Hold Me Now
by GhostMajor
Summary: Accepting a twisted truth can have dire consequences; causing one to turn their back on everything they ever believed in. Especially when that truth comes from Pitch Black.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Without a sound, Jack watches the children playing in the town center in the snow. From his vantage point on top of a nearby building, he can see his first believer, Jamie Bennett, playing with his friends and throwing snowballs at each other. He smiles to himself as he thinks about the young brunette boy and how he'd changed his life.

He watches fondly while Jamie laughs as he's pelted once again by a snowball. As the boy turns to make ammunition of his own, he notices the Winter Spirit lost in thought, perched on a roof. Smiling, he throws the packed snow towards the older boy.

Not deterred in the slightest that he isn't even close, he calls out, "Jack!"

Jack can't help but chuckle when the packed ball of snow falls well short of his position. With a big grin, he jumps from the roof and lightly lands beside Jamie in a gust of cold wind. "What's up, squirt?" Jack asks, dumping an armful of snow on the boy's head, smirking.

An involuntary shiver races up Jamie's spine at the sudden cold air, but he ignores it as snow is dumped on him. Laughing as he shakes his head to expel the frigid powder, he gives the older boy a brilliant smile. Then, fast as lightning, he brings his arm forward and throws a snowball into Jack's face. "You're it!" he screams, then runs as fast as he can back toward the other kids.

Jack grins as he wipes the snow from his face before taking off after the boy, creating his own arsenal of snow balls with his staff as he runs.

Seeing her brother being chased by Jack, Sophie's eyes light up as she runs over to join the fun, abandoning her half-finished snowman. She giggles as she makes her sloppy, lopsided snowballs. She's delighted when she tosses one at Jack and it hits the boy on the chest.

"Why you..." Jack rumbles, his eyes mischievous and grinning as he lobs some of his own snowballs. The little girl giggles as one of his snowballs deliberately misses her brother's face by a couple inches.

Jamie squeals as the snow flies dangerously close to his face, turning on his heel to narrowly avoid it. He slides on the slippery ground and scoops up another ball of snow as he scrambles to his feet. Darting behind Cupcake, he uses her as a human shield, throwing the ball toward the fast approaching Guardian. At the large girl's growl, however, he quickly changes his tactic and runs to Sophie, deciding to help her in her own assault.

Jamie dashes over to his little sister, arms loaded with a dozen snowballs. Coming up beside her, he lays them on the ground and smirks as he grabs one in each hand, eyes sparkling as much as Jack's. "You ready, Soph?"

Sophie nods as she mimics her brother, one snowball in each hand as she turns to face Jack.

Jack quirks an eyebrow, wondering just what the young duo are up to, though he's sure he already knows. He comes to a halt a ways away from the siblings, watching them with dancing ice-colored eyes.

Returning the girl's nod with a smile, Jamie turns to Jack and throws one snowball, quickly followed by the next. Once a hand is emptied, he scoops up another to pelt the older boy with, keeping up a constant flurry of snow hurtling toward him.

The little girl throws both at once, one going wide, the other straight at Jack. She continues throwing like that, two snowballs at a time, with her brother.

Jack's eyes grow wide as he's suddenly pelted with snow, and throws a few of his own snowballs back in return, but it's nothing compared to the number the younger siblings throw at him. While Jamie steadily keeps the snowballs coming, Sophie's strategy gets more thrown at him. Jack laughs, a happy sound, as he attempts to dodge a few of the snowballs but can't avoid them all.

After several minutes of their relentless attack, Jamie ceases his fire to give a glare at the older boy, though it loses a lot of it's ferocity with the wide grin plastered to his face. "Surrender!" he yells in his best commanding voice. "You stand no chance against our combined forces!"

"Yeah! Combi... um..." Sophie's face scrunches up as she tries to sound like her brother. Shrugging, she continues throwing her snowballs.

"Never!" Jack shouts, waving his staff and causing a burst of wind to knock a bunch of snow off of a tree branch that hung over Jamie and Sophie's heads.

Jamie manages a high-pitched squeak before he's buried in the snow. Quickly clawing his way to the surface, he pops his head out before bursting through the rest, arms filled with snow ready to be packed together. Taking off at a full sprint toward Jack, he bellows, "Charge!"

Following Jamie's lead, Sophie scrambles up and trails after him on much shorter legs, her arms filled with snow.

Jack laughs as the two run toward him. Instead of running from them, he fills his own arms with snow and charges at them as well.

Seeing the other boy isn't going to back down, Jamie squeezes the snow in his arms tightly to his chest, pressing it into a large clump. Once he gets within a few feet of Jack, he hurls the snowball behemoth with a grunt, effectively tripping in the process.

Forgetting her original reason for running with the snow, Sophie giggles at the sight of her brother sprawled out face first in the snow and runs over to him, dumping her armload of snow on his head. She giggles like mad before flopping over in the snow beside Jamie.

Jack watches the siblings, laughing at the little girl turning on her fallen brother. Standing over the pair, Jack opens his arms over the two, effectively covering both brother and sister in his white powder.

Slowing pushing himself back up through the snow covering him, Jamie turns to his sister. "You little...traitor!" he yells. Flinging himself at her, he begins tickling her. He can barely stop laughing enough to get out, "You're supposed to be on my side, Sophie!"

"Your side!" Sophie repeats through her giggles, squirming in the snow from her brother tickling her. Her blond hair splays around her head as she wiggles.

Jack jumps in to help Sophie, tickling Jamie who still has some snow in his hair.

Jamie yelps as Jack pounces on him, squirming in an attempt to get the older boy off of him. "So-Sophie, help!"

Jack lets the little girl push him off of Jamie, and she tries to tickle him. Not as ticklish as the children, Jack grabs Sophie by the waist and lifts her into the air over his head. The little girl has a huge grin on her face as she straightens her arms and legs as if she's flying, giggling the whole time.

Jamie sighs in relief as Jack's attention is turned toward his sister instead. He laughs as he watches the pair, but movement behind them catches his eye, causing him to gasp excitedly. The ground a few yards away opens into a large hole, and out pops a large rabbit sporting boomerangs and a sash of egg-shaped bombs.

"Oi, oi," Bunnymund says in his thick Australian accent. "Don't be stealin' my Ankle Bitah now, Frostbite."

With a grin Jack turns his head to look at the giant rabbit. "No one's taking her, Easter Kangaroo." Jack says, gently placing Sophie down on the soft snow before getting up and brushing the snow off of his clothing.

"Bunny!" Sophie screams before running over to Bunnymund, hugging his leg and getting snow on him.

If looks could kill, the glare sent Jack's way would have the young Winter Spirit bursting into flames. His fierce expression softens, however, as he extracts Sophie from his legs and places her atop his shoulders. Patting at the snow clinging to his fur with a paw, the other firmly around one of the girl's ankles, he says, "You've gotten big since Eastah, haven't you? Won't be long 'til you're as big as me!"

"Big as Bunny." Sophie repeats smugly, playing with his ears.

Jack snorts as he watches the two, still hardly able to believe how gentle the aggressive rabbit is with the little girl.

At hearing Jack's laugh, the glare returns. "Oi, don't make me come ovah there, Frostbite. I'm in a bad enough mood as it is."

"Ok, ok." Jack says, his hands raised in defeat as he tries, unsuccessfully, to stifle his laughter. "What brings you here to Burgess? You guys don't normally leave your places unless it's something important or your holidays, and Easter isn't for another couple months."

Jack bends over to retrieve his staff from the ground.

"Got a message from North," answers the Pooka gruffly. "Says he has somethin' ta tell us. Whatevah it is, doesn't sound good."

"Let me guess, his stomach is talking to him again." Jack muses, his smile pinched. Last time his stomach had done that all of the Guardians had nearly been destroyed, along with the happiness of children everywhere. With that thought in mind, Jack's gaze slides over to Jamie for a second before returning to Bunny.

Not sure exactly what's going on, Jamie meets Jack's brief gaze, cocking his head to the side in silent confusion.

Bunny lets out a sigh, knowing exactly where Jack's train of thought has taken him. "I think that's only part of it this time, mate." His paws tighten gently on Sophie's ankles as he continues. "This news is from Manny."

"Manny?" Jack feels almost as confused as Jamie looks. For 300 years, even after becoming a Guardian, the Man in the Moon has never once spoken to him.

Shrugging his shoulders, just enough that it lifts Sophie up, but doesn't threaten to dislodge her from her perch, Bunny answers, "North wants us up at his place so he can tell us what he said. Sounded pretty urgent too".

Jack nods abruptly and frowns, not happy about leaving his winter fun for Guardian business. "Sorry Jamie, sounds like I have to go for a bit." Jack says, crouching in front of the young boy and ruffling his brown hair.

"...Okay," Jamie says, trying and failing to keep the disappointment from his voice. "You'll come back to play once you're finished, right Jack?"

"Of course! We'll have a bigger and even better snowball fight than today." Jack smiles, trying to keep the uncertainty from his voice. If this time is as bad as the last time Manny needed the Guardians, there's a possibility he won't be returning to Burgess...

Brightening at that, Jamie beams. "Okay! I'll have an even better trap waiting for you, so come back soon!"

Reaching up, Bunnymund carefully lifts the girl off his shoulders, holding her out in front of him at eye level. "Awright, Ankle Bitah, I gotta run. I'll come pick you up before Eastah so you can help me paint my eggs, so you be good 'til then, yeah?"

"Eggs! Eggs!" Sophie chants happily, bouncing in Bunny's hold.

Chuckling quietly, Bunny brings Sophie in for a hug, gently squishing her tiny body against his soft fur.

Jamie returns the hug Jack gives him, ignoring the frigid temperature of the older boy as he clings to the blue hoodie.

After several moments, Bunny finally pulls the small girl away from him and sets her on the ground once more. Keeping a paw on her head, he looks over to his fellow Guardian. "We gotta get going, mate."

Jack turns his blue eyes on Bunny as he pulls away from Jamie, reluctant to leave. "I assume we're taking your rabbit holes?"

Tapping his foot on the ground, Bunny smirks as he replies, "Of course. Fastest way ta travel". He steps back as a hole appears in the ground, motioning for Jack to hop in.

Jack follows, trying to ignore his unease as he jumps down after Bunny, tumbling through the tunnel.

Jamie waves as he watches the pair disappear into the hole, a flower popping up from the newly reformed ground, and tries to push down the sudden wave of unease about Jack leaving.

* * *

Speeding through the tunnels, Bunny's ears suddenly twitch as he skids to a halt in front of the younger boy. "Oi, you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Jack grumbles, nearly plowing straight into Bunny. "I can't hear anything." Jack watches Bunny, gripping his staff a little tighter as he becomes more alert.

Bunny's ears move around constantly, straining to pinpoint the strange sound's location. "Sounds like...thundah," he mumbles, sounding more like a question.

"Thunder?" Jack questions. "We shouldn't hear thunder this far underground." Jack's eyebrows are pushed together as he tries to think of why they'd be hearing thunder.

Scrunching his face up in concentration, Bunnymund turns his focus to the vibrations now running through the ground of the tunnels. He kneels down on his haunches, placing a forepaw in the soft grass to get a better feel of the distant movement. Then, without warning, he hops up and whirls to face Jack, breathing out a frantic, "Nightmares..."

Jack curses under his breath as he nearly falls back on his butt, startled by Bunny's sudden reaction. "Nightmares? I thought we got rid of them, though," Jack says, unable to stop the panic from coming out in his voice. Eyes wide, he stares down the tunnel behind Bunny.

"So did I, so why," Bunny starts, only to be cut off by an ear shattering screech. He snaps his head to stare into the tunnel behind Jack, ears standing straight up and body tense. Moving toward them at an unbelievable speed are several of the dark horses, their eyes gleaming orbs in the thick wall of black.

The Pooka turns on his heel, ready to sprint the rest of the way to the safety of Santoff Claussen. He only manages two steps before a dark tendril reaches out from the shadow of the tunnel, wrapping itself tightly around his neck before slamming him into the wall, hard. He slides down to the ground as he's unceremoniously released, trying desperately to take oxygen into his burning lungs.

A dark chuckle reverberates throughout the now enclosed space, more black sand moving in toward the Winter Spirit.

"You didn't really think you could get rid of me, did you, Jack?"

* * *

**A/N: So, here we have the beginning of a new story by Anime Angel Alchemist and myself. It's originally a RP between the two of us, so if there are any inconsistencies, POV confusion, or if anyone is a bit OOC, it's because of that. Don't let that deter you, though. It's a great story, and updates will be every week (life permitting) since the whole thing's already written.**

**The title for this story comes from the song Hold Me Now by RED. I highly recommend you check it out, since it was a great inspiration for this fic. The cover art was made by me. **

**Let us know what you think! **


	2. Chapter 2

_Previously: _

_ The Pooka turns on his heel, ready to sprint the rest of the way to the safety of Santoff Claussen. He only manages two steps before a dark tendril reaches out from the shadow of the tunnel, wrapping itself tightly around his neck before slamming him into the wall, hard. He slides down to the ground as he's unceremoniously released, trying desperately to take oxygen into his burning lungs._

_ A dark chuckle reverberates throughout the now enclosed space, more black sand moving in toward the Winter Spirit._

_ "You didn't really think you could get rid of me, did you, Jack?"_

Chapter Two

Jack's wide blue eyes narrow on Pitch. "One can always hope," he says through grit teeth. He falls back into a defensive posture, his staff thrust out in front of his body protectively, aimed at the tall ashen man before him. Jack wants nothing more than to rush over and help Bunny, but knows he can't take his eyes off of Pitch. "What do you want now? The children aren't scared of you anymore, Pitch."

"Oh, but this isn't about the _children_, Jack. It's about you; it's _always_ been about you," Pitch says, emerging from the shadows into the open.

Clutching at his surely broken ribs, Bunny manages, "Run...Jack...Get outta here." He forgoes a nickname in the urgent situation.

"M... Me?" Jack says, ignoring Bunny and glaring at Pitch. "Why do you want me? Heck, even the Guardians didn't even want me at first." Pain is evident in the spirit's voice as Jack glares at the taller man, the sting of being invisible and unwanted still very sharp. Up until about a year ago, no one had wanted anything to do with the Winter Spirit and even the children hadn't believed in him.

"You were the one who got away, Jack," Pitch says, his voice regretful, though whether the feelings are true or not is unclear. "I was there, you know; three hundred years ago. You were so afraid. But right as I went to help you, the Man in the Moon snatched you up, condemning you to that life of solitude." He spits the name as if it burns his mouth to utter it.

"Don't listen to 'im, Jack," Bunny wheezes, but is quickly silenced by a black spear piercing into his shoulder.

Jack glances between Bunny and Pitch, his heart thrown into turmoil. The seed of doubt had long since been planted in his heart centuries ago when the Man in the Moon left him alone and scared to figure things out for himself. He wants so bad to believe in his friends, but they had been reluctant to let him into their fold at first, especially Bunnymund.

"I... How do I know you're telling the truth?" Jack demands, his hands beginning to tremble slightly. He doesn't want to believe the Boogeyman, but something inside him says Pitch is telling him the truth.

Holding his hands slightly out to the side, Pitch asks, "Why would I lie?" He then folds his hands behind his back. "But if you must know, I could sense when the ice began to crack. Your little sister, Jocelyn was her name, I believe, was terrified, but you, Jack, you calmed her down, made her play a game with you. Then, in a feat of unquestionable bravery, sacrificed yourself to save her life. I jumped in after you, but before I could reach you, _he_ took you."

"He's lyin' to ya, Jack, don't-gah!" Bunny winces as the spear is turned in his shoulder, cutting off the rest of his words.

Jack has to choke back a sob at just the thought of his sister, and how she'd nearly died that day.  
"Lyn..." He whispers her name, his whole body beginning to tremble. Losing his will to fight, Jack looks up at Pitch while fighting the tears that threaten to fall.

Smiling victoriously on the inside, Pitch continues. "I was banned from any contact with you after that. So, I did the only thing I could think of to help you." He looks the boy straight in the eye, face serious. "I watched after your sister in your place, Jack. It was apparent you no longer remembered who you were, so I kept an eye on her, watched her grow up, all for you."

Bunnymund stares up at the King of Nightmares, utterly bewildered. _Surely Jack isn't buying all this, right?_

Jack falters when he looks at the bleeding Bunnymund, pleading with his eyes for the rabbit to understand. He'd been alone for so long he found it hard to trust, and here Pitch was offering the stability and comfort he'd needed. He can feel himself succumbing to the Nightmare King's saccharin words, and it terrifies him. He doesn't want to admit to himself that he had never trusted the Guardians.

Pitch smiles as he senses the fear, though it appears on his face as kind and sympathetic. Taking a few cautious steps forward, he closes the gap to place a gentle hand on the young Guardian's shoulder. "I know I've given you no reason to trust me, Jack, but if you'll just give me a chance, I can show you everything you missed. Were you aware that Jocelyn had children? Lovely bunch, they were."

That was all Jack had needed to hear from Pitch to finally break the last of his defenses. He had tensed when the taller man touched him, but now he relaxes, slouching, and his staff falls from his shaking fingers. He looks up into Pitch's face with big eyes, the tears finally beginning to fall from his blue eyes though the salty liquid freezes before it hits the ground.

Jack falls to his knees at Pitch's feet and buries his face in his hands, letting the tears fall now. The boy can't even bare to look at Bunnymund, knowing he's betraying his friends. But he can't stop himself.

The King of Nightmares allows himself the briefest of smirks before fitting his mask of concern back into place. Kneeling next to the boy in a flourish of dark robes, he returns his hand to Jack's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "There now, no need to be upset," he says softly. "Jocelyn was never alone, and neither do you ever have to be, Jack."

Attempting to push himself up, Bunnymund gasps as the pain knocks him back down, leaving him winded once again. "Jack," he pleads, "come on, mate. You can't believe what this guy says".

"You never liked me, Bunnymund." Jack says softly, using his name. He looks at Bunny with red eyes and a wet face. "Why can't you understand...?"

His face is blank as he turns to Pitch.

"I want to see them." Jack wants nothing more than for Bunny to understand him. For 300 years, he had no one - not even his past. Just recently he acquired his memories of his beloved sister and now he's been given a link back to her.

Flashing a brilliant smile, Pitch stands up, holding out a hand to the boy. "Let us be off, then."

Jack hesitates for a moment, glancing at the wounded Bunnymund before taking Pitch's proffered hand. As soon as he touches Pitch's hand, Jack feels a part of himself breaking and it's a very real pain to the boy.

_I'm glad I'll get to meet Jocelyn's family, but I hope I won't regret this._

Pitch pulls the boy to his feet, and as if reading his mind adds, "Trust me, Jack, you won't regret this decision".

Seeing Jack take the Spirit of Fear's hand, Bunny starts up his futile struggle to stand once more. "Jack, don'...don't do this. He's just...just tryin' ta fool ya." A hiss escapes him as his hind legs buckle underneath him, leaving him panting on the ground, pleading silently for the boy to listen to him.

"Sorry..." Jack whispers, unsure if Bunny could even hear him as he turns to follow Pitch.

With that, Pitch places an arm around Jack's shoulders. Bringing up black sand to envelope them, the pair disappears from the Easter Bunny's tunnel.

* * *

Pausing for several minutes, Bunny finally grits his teeth and drags himself to stand again, the spear in his shoulder already dissolved into black sand that clings to his fur. His breathing is labored as he stumbles the rest of the short distance to Santoff Claussen.

"Bunny!" North shouts upon seeing the Pooka running into his workshop. "Finally you are here! But Jack. Where is he?"

Sandy's eyes grow wide as he sees the state Bunnymund is in. When North fails to notice it at first, he tries to draw his attention to Bunny's beaten state. He waves at the wall of a man and emits little chiming sounds, shapes forming in rapid succession over his head in his golden sand as he tries to get North's attention.

Standing a short distance behind Sandy, Tooth notices his motions and flutters over to see behind the large Russian, Baby Tooth perched comfortably on her shoulder, and gasps as she sees the dark stain of blood and something black clinging to him. "You're hurt! What happened? Are you okay? Where's Jack?" The questions rush out, her mothering instincts taking over at seeing the state her friend is in.

Bunny looks up at his three remaining friends, eyes hazy from pain. "He got 'im...took 'im...dunno know where..." he mumbles.

More shapes and symbols form over Sandy's head, though a question mark appears a few times as he chimes at Bunny.

"Pitch has Jack?" North rumbles, automatically assuming the worst. "Why? How bad was he hurt?"

Tooth remains silent to hear the Easter Bunny's reply, though she flutters nearby nervously, a hand atop Baby Tooth's head to quiet her chirping.

A humorless laugh escapes Bunny's lips as he answers, "He wasn't hurt, mate. Pitch spouted some nonsense about a pond an' Jack's sistah, and he fell for it".

"He _what_?" North exclaims, furious. "How could he believe that no good..." North trails off, pacing back and forth. Somehow, he avoids stepping on the little elves that always seem to be underfoot, but their presence only makes him angrier and more distressed.

Sandy tries to calm North by placing a little golden hand on his arm, but North just shrugs it off.

"His sister...?" Tooth mumbles, landing softly on the ground. Her eyes widen in sudden realization and she lets out a gasp. "Oh no," she utters, voice trembling slightly. Looking to the others she says, "Pitch didn't lie to him".

"Explain." North demands, though his voice is softer as he looks at Tooth.

Tooth bites her lip, uncertain whether she should tell or not. After a moment, she lets out a sigh. "It's not my place to say any of this...but I guess given the circumstances, I have no choice." Taking a deep breath, she tells them, "When Jack gave back his baby teeth for me to guard, I saw his memories. I didn't mean to!" she amends, "but sometimes it happens if the memory is strong enough. And this one...this one was bad". The Tooth Fairy wraps her arms around herself, Baby Tooth snuggling against the side of her face and chirping sadly, then tells the rest of the Guardians about the death of Jackson Overland...and the birth of Jack Frost.

When she finishes, Bunny breathes, "Crikey...That would explain how Pitch knew so much...He was bloody there".

North scrubs a big hand across his face and groans. "Chyort voz'mi!" he swears in Russian, clearly not thrilled with the news.

"We've gotta get him back," Tooth says, determined. "Before Pitch can use what he knows against us."

"To the sleigh!" North exclaims, glad to be doing something.

Bunnymund staggers to his feet, not looking forward to riding in that flying death trap, but wanting to help in getting Jack back. He thanks Tooth as she flies over and hooks his good arm around her neck, helping him to the sleigh.

North leads the way to the stable where his reindeer are already hitched and ready, looking as fearsome as ever as they rear and plunge, aggravated at being disturbed.

With the help of Tooth, Bunny manages to climb into the large sleigh, and grabs the side in a vice-like grip. As the fairy takes a seat next to him, he gives North a nod. "Let's go get our Frostbite back."

North nods, his mouth set in a grim line as he snaps the reins, signaling the reindeer to take off. With a lurch, the deer begin running, maneuvering through the iced tunnels leading outside. It's a wild ride as North steers, the deer even running the sleigh upside down a couple times. It doesn't take long for them to emerge from the tunnel and with a huge leap the sleigh is airborne.

"Buckle up." North says, chuckling as he pulls out a snow globe. He rolls it in his palm a moment before tossing it into the air in front of his team, opening a portal.

"You gotta get some actual seat belts in this thing, mate," Bunny mumbles, looking a bit green through his fur as they soar through the portal.

"Who need seat belt, my friend? Sleigh more fun without." North chuckles, his mood lightening up a bit now that he can keep busy.

"Yeah, 'fun'," grumbles the Pooka, hanging on tighter.

Tooth chuckles at the pair, thankful for the slight reprieve in the tense atmosphere.

North gives a hearty laugh before turning back to Bunny. "Where do you think they went?" He asks.

Tooth hums in thought before saying, "My best guess would be the place it all started. I highly doubt he would have taken Jack to his lair..."

"To Burgess, then. To pond where Jack was created." North nods in agreement.

"Let's just hope we're not too late," Bunny adds morosely.

* * *

Pitch proves them right as he has the pair emerge in the shade of several trees, a frozen pond in clear view from their vantage point.

A cold pain grips Jacks body when he recognizes the lake as the place where he had died, and in turn been reborn.

Folding his arms behind his back, Pitch walks forward until he's standing directly in the middle of the pond, staring down into its depths with an unreadable expression. Finally turning back to Jack after a moment, he says, "You may not know this, but that fairy is not the only one who can deal with memories".

"T-Tooth?" Jack looks at Pitch, the information new to him. "I just kind of assumed she was the only one..."

"Yes, everyone always assumes that," Pitch hums, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "I normally only deal with unhappy memories, but in this case, it's different. I was there, after all."

Jack watches Pitch, confused by this new bit of information. "Why did you decide to look after Jocelyn?" Jack asks softly, staring at his bare feet in the snow. "You had no reason to."

"Because it was my fault you were alone for so long, Jack," Pitch informs him. "Had I gotten there sooner, you would have been noticed long before now. You would be right at my side from the get go, just as visible as I." Fists clenching at his sides, he continues, "I _knew_ what would happen once you became a spirit; we've all been through that unbearably lonely time before being believed in. But you were taken first. The least I could do was make sure your sacrifice wasn't in vain".

Jack lifts his eyes to study Pitch's face, uncertainty written on his face. "When are you going to take me to her family?"

"We can go whenever you like," Pitch tells him. "After all, they never left Burgess. You've been with them all along."

"You mean I've been around them the whole time?" Jack's eyes light up and he takes a few steps toward the taller man, not bothering to try to hide the urgency in his voice. "I need to see them."

"I believe you saw them just a short while ago," the Boogeyman says. "You see, Jocelyn Overland grew up to marry one Gregory Bennett; the family has stayed here for centuries." Looking at Jack curiously, he adds, "Did the Guardians not tell you?"

Jack stares at Pitch, thunderstruck. "You mean Jamie and Sophie?" he asks softly, afraid of Pitch's answer. _They were here the whole time... My sister's family was here and I had no idea._ Jack sways a little where he stands, feeling suddenly lightheaded.

Pitch seems to glide forward on the ice, stopping before the boy and placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. "That's right. Your little sister had a long and happy life, and her descendants lived on to stay with you." Quieter, he adds, "I wanted to tell you, Jack, I truly did. But the Man in the Moon would have none of it. That was why I wanted you to join me; so the two of us could find a way to be free of his deceit".

"I... I can't believe they didn't tell me... Jamie and Sophie... That they're my..." Jack can barely hold together a complete thought as his mind races a mile a minute trying to comprehend that his first believer is actually his nephew. His ice blue eyes are vacant as they search Pitch's gold ones.

"I never understood why they never wanted to tell you," Pitch nearly whispers. "It's almost as if they wanted you to be alone..."

Jack grips his staff close to his body, the thought that he was kept in the dark on purpose quite painful. "But why? What would they get out of it? Why lie?" Jack asks, his hands shaking.

Placing his other hand on the boy's shoulder as well, Pitch says knowingly, "They were afraid of you".

"Afraid? Why should they be afraid of me?" Jack looks up at Pitch, his brows drawn together in confusion.

"Because you're powerful, Jack," Pitch tells him. "More powerful than any of the Guardians. They had to keep you in line somehow, so you wouldn't turn that power against them; they knew they wouldn't stand a change in a fight against you. But if you were all alone, it would be easy for them to win you over by finally paying attention to you. It was a horrible, deceitful plan that I wanted nothing to do with."

Jack simply stares at the Nightmare King. "I don't understand" he says sourly. "I'm not as strong as you think. It was all I could do to save Jamie. Why do you think I have some great power?"

"Ah, but you _did_ save him," Pitch answers. "You're resourceful, Jack, something the others are not. You know how to think like the children you protect. All the other Guardians are adults; your childishness frightens them."

Jack remains quiet, unsure of himself as he studies Pitch.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Pitch starts, releasing his hold on the boy. "I'll give you a moment to think it all over." With that he walks off into the woods, disappearing into the shadows.

Jack watches Pitch's retreating form as he sinks to the ice, not really noticing the cold of it on his already cold skin. _What am I doing...?_ Jack wonders, creating patterns on the ice to distract himself. _If I join Pitch, I go against everything I've ever known. But on the other hand, the Guardians never once thought it important enough to tell me that Jocelyn's, no, my family was still here in Burgess. That Jamie was one of her descendants._

Pitch watches the boy from the shadow of a large tree, it's branches dried out and dead from the cold. It's simply beautiful, he thinks, how well cold and dark blends together, creating a place positively glistening in hopelessness.

After a few minutes spent doodling on the ice and thinking, Jack stands back up and looks in the direction Pitch had left in. The trees are thick, leaving the area too dark to see very far into the woods. "I'm ready, Pitch. I want to join you." Jack calls out. "I'm tired of being lied to."

At that, Pitch emerges from the darkness, coming up to stand in front of him. "I knew you'd make the right choice." Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder in a very fatherly manner, he adds, "I promise you, Jack, I will never lie to you".

* * *

"There!" North points toward a pond in the middle of the woods they are flying over. In the distance, a small, thin figure can be seen standing in the middle of the frozen pond.

Seeing the taller figure, Tooth leans forward slightly, uttering an, "Oh no..."

Bunnymund lets out a low growl, fingers digging in to his shoulder where a slight pain can still be felt from the spear.

"Chyort voz'mi!" North exclaims, recognizing Pitch. "We're too late." He tries to bring the sleigh down in the snow near the pond.

* * *

"Let's just get out of here... This place... It has too many memories for me." Jack says shrugging Pitch's hand off.

"As you wish," Pitch answers, not at all bothered by being shrugged off. It's still early, after all. "We can go wherever you like." His eyes narrow as he sees the other Guardians land nearby. He had been hoping it would take that stupid rabbit longer to get help.

"Anywhere but here." Jack says before noticing the Guardians.

Tooth soars out of the sleigh, not bothering to wait until it's stopped, hollering, "Let him go, Pitch!"

Bunny is close behind, a boomerang held firmly in his good hand.

"Stop, Jack!" North shouts, jumping from the sleigh as soon as it's stopped. "You don't know what you are doing!"

Sandy, having just woken up, tumbles from the sleigh, golden dream sand gushing from his ears as he glares at Pitch. He chimes nearly nonstop at the Nightmare King and symbols move at high speed over his head, though one of them can definitely be seen as Pitch standing over a weeping Jack.

Stepping toward Jack protectively, Pitch sneers, "I think it's time you let the boy decide for himself what he should do. You've planned out his life enough as it is".

"I'm tired of being kept in the dark." Jack says, more aggressively than he had intended, but continues. "You left me by myself for 300 years. _I didn't even have any memories!_" Jack nearly screams the last part. His fury causes lacy tendrils of frost to shoot out around him on the ice, branching out to cover a few nearby trees. He stares at the four Guardians with cold blue eyes.

"But we did it for your own good, Jack." North says, trying to calm the boy.

"For my own good?" Jack snorts, a harsh sound. "I didn't know anything; all I knew was my name. I lived the only way I knew how to, and you all resented me for it." Jack's free hand balls into a tight fist, and the one holding his staff grips it tightly.

"We never resented you, Jack," Tooth says, trying to calm him. "We just didn't want to see you get hurt."

"Don't you think it hurt me to be alone all those years? I didn't even know what was going on. Do you know how scared I was when those people walked right through me? I was alone. Completely and utterly alone." Jack says, his tone cutting. "At least Pitch can understand how that feels."

"Pitch?" Bunny questions incredulously. "You think _he_ can understand anyone? His job is bringin' fear ta people!"

Pitch scoffs at that. "And it is because of that that I can understand Jack. No one wants to be around a person who only thrives in the dark. Even with believers, Pitch Black is alone."

Jack glances at the man with a new respect for him and all he's gone through.

Sandy chimes at Jack, a pair of golden figures forming over his head. They come to life as the taller figure strikes the smaller figure, sending him to the ground in a heap. Then the taller figure dissolves and the smaller one reforms into a much more frightening visage of Jack, icicles dripping from his clothes and dark rings around his hollow eyes.

"Sandy's right, Jack. Pitch can't have anything good planned for you if you side with him." Baby Tooth flies over toward the Winter Spirit, chirping her agreement with her mother.

Putting his boomerang away, Bunny adds, "He's just brainwashin' ya, mate".

"I don't care!" Jack shouts, a shock wave of cold air bursting out around the startled, though very angry boy. Without another word, Jack spins around and takes off into the woods, his hands shaking with anger.

"Jack! No!" North starts to take off after the boy, but is stopped by the little golden man, shaking his head no.

Tooth covers her mouth at the outburst, tears threatening to spill over. "No..." She opens her arms, catching a very distraught Baby Tooth as the little fairy trembles against her chest.

Pitch throws a victorious smirk at the Guardians before disappearing in darkness, moving to appear in the path of the retreating boy.

"I'm gonna kill 'im," Bunny grinds out before taking off after the pair.

Jack barely gets himself stopped in time to avoid barreling into Pitch. He glares up at him, still shaking in anger.

Pitch holds his hands up in front of the boy in a placating manner. "I truly am sorry you had to find out this way, Jack."

"Yeah, somehow I doubt that," scoffs Bunny as he skids to a stop nearby. Turning to the other Guardian, he says, "Don't ya see what he's doin' to ya? He's wormin' his way inta your head, feedin' on your doubts. He's the _Boogeyman_, Jack. It's what he _does_".

Jack turns from Pitch, leveling his stormy gaze at his former friend. As he glares at Bunny, he can feel something in his eyes changing. As a cold wind blows around the trio, Jack's eyes begin to change. His irises, which were once the color of ice, begin to swirl, darkening to the color of stormy seas. When the wind settles, Jack's eyes have become such a dark blue that they almost appear black.

Bunny takes a step back in his shock, eyes wide and body shivering in the cold, despite his thick fur. "Jack, you gotta calm down, mate. You're gonna freeze this whole place ovah. Think o' Jamie."

Jack reels back, his eyes flashing back to their normal icy color at the thought of Jamie. Pain flashes across his face but he quickly forces a blank expression on his face. "I wouldn't have to worry about him if you'd just thought to tell me about him." Jack's voice is dangerous and threatening.

"What're you talkin' about?" Bunny questions, eyebrow raised. "He's fine, we just saw 'im a couple 'o hours ago."

Jack's anger slips for a moment and his eyes dart to Pitch before returning to Bunny. "That he's related to me." Jack snaps. "You know how much I cared for my sister, yet you didn't tell me that she had a living descendant not only in this town, but that he's my first believer!"

"Who told ya that?" Bunny asks, then hearing how that could be taken the wrong way, amends, "I mean, Pitch told ya that? And you believed him?"

Finding an opening, Pitch retorts, "I merely thought it was about time Jack knew the truth. And since it was quite obvious none of you were going to tell him, I took the liberty of doing it myself". He smirks behind Jack's back at the bewildered expression on the Pooka's face at his words.

"I thought I could trust you guys!" Jack shouts, gesturing to the others still back at the lake. The pain is thick in Jack's voice as his eyes begin to change again.

"And you can!" Bunny says, starting to get flustered at not being able to get through to the boy. "We've nevah lied to you; nevah had a reason to! We're your friends, Jack. We'd nevah do anythin' to hurt you."

Pitch is positively beaming behind Jack by this point, though his voice shows nothing but sorrow. "And is that why you all chose to ignore him for three hundred years? Because you were his 'friends'?"

Jack stares at Bunny, silent as he waits for his response with his arms crossed.

"Th-those where Manny's ordahs!" Bunny splutters, anger at Pitch bubbling up. "We couldn't just go against them!"

"But you weren't forbidden to have contact with him, were you?"

"Well, no, but-"

Pitch's eyes glint maliciously as he interrupts. "There you have it, then. You were allowed to acknowledge Jack's existence, yet you Guardians still chose to act like he wasn't there for centuries."

Jack turns from Bunny, not able to face him any longer. "I need to get out of here," he tells Pitch. "I don't want to hear any more of this."

"Very well," Pitch agrees. Reaching out a hand, Pitch once again places a hand on Jack's shoulder. As the dark sand begins to envelope the pair, the King of Nightmares smiles over at Bunny. "So long, Guardians."

Jack cringes as the sand envelopes him, but doesn't break away. As they disappear into the swirling sand, Jack feels a piercing pain behind his eyes and it's all he can do not to collapse as his hair begins changing from its light snowy silver to a darker, dingier shade of gray.

As they emerge from the darkness, Pitch glances down at the boy. "Are you alright, Jack?" he asks, noticing him wince.

"Fine." Jack manages through clenched teeth, though it's obviously a lie. He's unaware of his altered hair color, but notices his previously slightly frosted hoodie is now covered in intricate frost patterns and building up in places on his body. "W-What's going on?"

"I would presume your true powers are awakening now that you're not being held back," Pitch answers easily.

Jack stares at Pitch as his hoodie darkens from its previous blue to black, the frost appearing like glittering silver. Touching his hand to a nearby pond, Jack freezes the surface so he can use it like a mirror. He's shocked when a boy with almost white skin stares back at him with dark eyes and dark rings around his eyes to match, giving them a sunken appearance. He sees now that his hair is much darker. It's not quite black, but far from the silver color it used to be. Shocked, Jack backs away from the ice and nearly bumps into Pitch.

Pitch places a hand on the boy's back, just long enough to keep him from bumping into him. "You were meant for so much more than what you've been doing, Jack," he says. "I can help you find your destiny. Everyone will know the name Jack Frost; you won't ever go unnoticed again."

Jack looks at Pitch, his bangs flopping over his dark eyes making him look like a hopeful puppy.

"We have a lot of work to do to get there," Pitch says. Off in the distance, a large black castle-like structure can be seen. "Let's begin, shall we?" With a flourish, he motions the boy forward, no longer able to contain the victorious smirk off his face behind Jack's back.

_ I win, Guardians._

* * *

Bunnymund rushes forward, leaping at the sand. "No!" He lands hard on the ground, black grains slipping through his fingers. With a frustrated cry, he slams his paw on the ice, not even leaving a crack in the thick, frozen snow.

Hearing the rather loud yell, Tooth shares a quick glance with the two remaining Guardians before zipping off in the direction their friends had gone, North and Sandy hot on her heels.

Upon reaching the surprisingly frozen wooded area, Tooth gasps at seeing the Pooka on the ground. Rushing over to kneel beside him, she asks, "What happened? Where's Jack?"

Pushing himself up on his haunches, Bunny looks up at her, eyes unreadable. "He's gone," he says quietly. "We lost 'im..."

When Sandy hops off of his little cloud, he's frowning at the state the Pooka is in. Chiming to Tooth, a golden question mark floats above his head and he points to Bunny.

North gets to the frozen area a moment later, his swords drawn as he takes in his surroundings.  
"What happened here?" He asks, gesturing to the frozen trees with one of his swords.

Tooth turns to her friends, hand over her mouth and tears finally spilling down her cheeks as she tells them, "He went with Pitch".

North is too shocked to speak, and can't bring himself to be angry. The tall man sags, the tips of his swords falling to the snow.

"Why...?" Bunny whispers. Louder he asks, "How could he fall for all that?"

"Is Pitch. He can find your weakness and exploit it to fullest." North sighs. "He's a snake that knows how to get what he wants."

Standing to his full height, the Easter Bunny's eyes burn in determination. "Not this time, mate; Pitch ain't winnin'. We're gettin' our Frostbite back. No mattah what."

* * *

**A/N: Anime Angel Alchemist here, the other half of the brain that came up with the idea for this RP. I was Jack, North, Sandy, and Sophie for this. Please excuse any weirdness that might come about – the entirety of this RP was done between the time we both saw the movie, and way before the movie came out on DVD, so we relied a lot on the Guardians wiki page which may or may not be accurate.**

**Well, I can't think of anything witty to put here, so I'll just leave you for now.**

**Please, Rate & Review so we know how we're doing!**

**~AAA**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Jamie sighs as he slowly makes his way through the deserted, ice-covered roads of Burgess to his family home.

Since that day ten years ago, Winters have been harsh, dreadfully cold, and often times, deadly. It seems every time the snow falls, someone gets injured. He wishes Jack was around to do something about it. _Maybe he's the cause_, insists an annoying part of his mind. He banishes that thought instantly, though. Jack Frost would never hurt anyone.

With a breath of relief, he pulls into the driveway, a big smile on his face as he sees one of his favorite people excitedly bouncing on the front steps. "Mom know you're out here in this cold?" he asks his little sister as he steps out of the car.

"Does it matter?" Sophie giggles, launching herself at her much taller brother. The girl isn't even wearing a coat, just a blue hoodie similar to what Jack used to wear. "I'm glad you're home, Jamie. The winters have been weird without you and Jack." She grins, snow falling on her hair and shoulders.

Jamie catches the small girl, twirling her around in an effort to keep them both upright on the slick ice. After a tight hug, he pulls back, settling her on his hip. "Still no sign of him?" he asks, worry in his voice.

Sophie shakes her head. "Sorry, I know how much you miss him." Not wanting to look at her brother, Sophie wraps her arms around him and buries her face in his jacket. "Where do you think he went?" She asks, her voice muffled.

"I wish I knew, Soph," Jamie answers, carrying her up the steps to the front door. "I just hope wherever he is, he's doing okay..."

Sophie's eyes get misty as she thinks about the last time they had seen Jack. He'd seemed normal and carefree, though when Bunny had arrived he left looking worried. "Do you think it had something to do with what Bunny told him the last time we saw him?" She asks, looking up into her brother's eyes.

Opening the door and stepping inside the warm house, Jamie hums, "Maybe. They left in a hurry, so who knows?"

His thoughts are interrupted as their mother rushes up to him, gushing about her "big college boy". Jamie laughs, giving the shorter woman a hug with his free arm so as not to drop his sister. Thoughts of the Guardian of Fun are pushed to the back of his mind for the moment, but not gone. Never gone.

* * *

Jack watches Jamie from the woods, his staff clutched tightly in his hand. He's pale, almost as white as the snow that surrounds him, and his eyes are dark and sunken back into his skull. He's thinner than he used to be, and his gray hair has grown so his bangs are constantly in his eyes and tickles the back of his neck. The most striking the years have done to the boy is take away his smile. He can't even remember the last time he's laughed or smiled since he'd been with Pitch.

"Jamie..." he whispers, watching the house wistfully.

Pitch, feeling particularly agitated with Christmas just around the corner, growls in frustration as he realizes a certain spirit is not anywhere to be found in the dark lair. Moving within his dark sand, he quickly locates the boy with the help of his Nightmares, lurking on the edge of Burgess in the trees.

"What did I tell you about coming here?" he asks, voice eerily emotionless.

"I just needed to see Jamie..." Jack says softly, turning his dark eyes to Pitch.

Without warning, Pitch backhands the boy across the face. "I believe I asked you a question," he growls.

The force of the blow sends Jack into a nearby tree, his head colliding with it painfully. "You told me not to come near Burgess," Jack mumbles, his head spinning as he struggles to keep his feet under himself.

"Care to tell me _why_, then, you decided to come here anyway?" His voice just dares him to say something he doesn't approve of.

"I told you, I needed to see Jamie..." Jack whispers, unable to look at Pitch.

With a snarl, Pitch grabs the boy by the collar of his hoodie, slamming him into a nearby tree before pulling him close. He shakes Jack to get him to look him in the eye before saying lowly, "That's quite enough sass out of you, boy". With that, he throws him onto the cold ground.

Jack crumples, gasping for air through the heavy haze of pain clouding his mind.

Pitch reaches down to pick the Winter Spirit up by the frost-covered hood of his shirt. "I told you it's pointless coming here anymore," he scoffs hatefully. Then more softly he adds, "Those children of yours have already grown up, Jack; they've moved on. Seeing them now would only cause you more pain".

Jack squeezes his eyes shut, wanting to be far from Pitch, but knowing he can't. He has to fight the tears that threaten to fall when Pitch says Jamie and his sister don't believe in him anymore. "Why are you doing this...?" he asks softly, finally able to look at the taller man with glassy, half-dead eyes, most of the fight long gone from them.

Setting the boy upright, hand around his upper arm to keep his thin frame from toppling over, Pitch answers, "I care about you, Jack; you've become like a son to me over the years. I couldn't bare it to see you so devastated at seeing first hand that Jamie didn't believe in you anymore".

Jack looks away from Pitch, to Jamie's house, with eyes full of longing. If only Jamie would just walk out that front door, showing Jack he was alive and well, would make it easier for him to return to Pitch's lair.

As Jack stares at the house, a cold gust of wind swirls around them, bringing sparkling snowflakes with it. The more forlorn Jack becomes, the harder the wind blows, bringing more and more snow and ice with it.

Pitch grips the arm a bit tighter, not painfully so, but enough to get the boy's attention. "You've given this place enough snow already, haven't you?" He scolds gently, the anger from earlier all but forgotten.

"But if it snows, Jamie will come out," Jack says, sounding lost and desperate when he looks at Pitch. "I have to see him..."

After a moment's thought, Pitch sighs, releasing his hold on Jack's arm. "Very well. You may stay for a little bit longer, however," he interrupts the hopeful look flashing across the boy's face, "you are to stay here. No interacting, is that clear?"

Reluctant, Jack nods. To show that he'll listen, he drops down to the snow, sitting with his back to a tree and his knees pulled up to his chest.

"Good," Pitch says, giving a small nod of his own. "I expect you back at the lair by sundown. No later." With that, he disappears in a rush of dark sand.

* * *

After a hearty lunch at the insistence of their mother, who refused to take no for an answer with a, "College students _never_ eat well, so sit down and eat up," Jamie heads for the front door, grabbing his coat off the rack on the wall.

"How about a snowball fight for old time's sake?" he throws over at his sister.

"Of course!" Sophie shouts, stuffing the last of her lunch in her mouth and running to catch up with her brother. It doesn't take her much time at all to pull on her coat and boots, and slip on a pair of gloves.

Jamie laughs at the girl's enthusiasm, pulling on his own gloves and shoving a beanie on his head. The cold wind momentarily knocks the air out of him as he opens the door, but he pushes the discomfort aside in light of the impending fight to come.

"You're going down!" he yells, rushing out into the knee-high snow and scooping up ammunition to throw at Sophie.

Jack's eyes light up as he sees first Jamie, then Sophie emerge from the house, wrapped up snug and warm in their winter clothing.

"I'd like to see you try!" Sophie replies, running out into the snow. The cold is bone-chilling, but she doesn't care as she starts to pick up handfuls of snow and pack them into snowballs. Trying to get one up on her brother, Sophie throws the first snowball. She follows Jamie as he dodges the snow and darts into the woods.

With a small smile on his lips, Jack watches the two play. "You've gotten big, Jamie..." Jack mumbles to no one in particular. "I guess that's what ten years does to a person..." He watches Jamie taking cover nearby, trying to resist the urge to reach out to the boy - no, young man.

Jamie's eyes widen as he hears his name from somewhere nearby. Looking around, he doesn't see the snowball coming straight towards him. It hits him right in the side of the head, freezing powder exploding around him.

Jack chuckles softly, a sad, forlorn sound as he watches Jamie get nailed with the snowball. He can't help but be bitter over the fact he thinks Jamie can't see him anymore. He leans his head on his knees, dark hair flopping into his eyes as he watches the fight through his scraggly bangs.

"Yes! First blood!" Sophie shouts in triumph, charging her brother while throwing more snowballs, oblivious to his distraction.

"No fair, Soph! I was distracted!" Jamie calls out, darting between trees to avoid the barrage of snow. As he turns around a corner, he's shocked to see someone sitting there. He backpedals to try to avoid them, but slips on the surprisingly icy ground and lands with an "oof" in the snow.

"All's fair in love and-" Sophie stops mid sentence when she sees her brother on the ground, and gasps when she sees the dark, ominous figure sitting under a tree. The snow around him is rather churned up, the evidence of a bit of a scuffle, and Sophie eyes him warily.

Jack simply stares at the siblings, too shocked to remember his promise to Pitch.

Jamie pushes himself into a sitting position, shaking his head to rid it of the snow stuck to his face and hat as he looks at the small boy sitting huddled against the tree. Upon further inspection, he notices a large bruise on his right cheek. Leaning forward a bit, he asks, "Are you alright? What are you doing out here by yourself?"

Jack tries to scramble back, away from Jamie, but he's already back against a tree. "I, um..."

Leaning back, Jamie holds up his hands, showing he means no harm. "Hey now, no need to be scared. We're not gonna hurt you," he reassures softly. "Can you tell me your name? How old you are?"

"Jackson." He says softly, not looking the boy in the eye. He decides he'll deal with the consequences later; any punishment of Pitch's is nothing compared to his longing for his friends. "You've gotten big."

Jamie shares a glance with Sophie at that before turning back to the frightened boy. Trying to coax him into calming down a bit, he says, "Jackson, huh? That's a cool name".

Jack looks at Jamie, tears welling in his eyes as he realizes the boy doesn't recognize him. "Th-Thanks." Jack says, forcing a shaking smile. _What if Pitch was right? He sees me, so he still believes, but..._

Noticing the tears, Jamie carefully reaches a hand out and places it on Jackson's shoulder. He briefly thinks that the boy is unnaturally cold, but blames that on the fact that he's obviously been out here a while, if the dirt marring the small frame is anything to go by. "What's the matter? Are you hurt?"

Jack flinches when Jamie places a warm hand on his shoulder, but doesn't pull away. He shakes his head no, not trusting his voice.

"Our house is just right over there," Jamie says, glancing down at the pale bare feet buried in the snow. "We can get you warmed up, get ahold of your parents...what do you say?"

Jack hesitates. If Pitch doesn't want him to interact with the siblings, he certainly won't like him going into their house. Finally, Jack nods. _To heck with Pitch. I'll deal with him later,_ he thinks sourly.

Jamie stands and reaches a hand out to Jackson to help him up. With a warm smile, he says, "Everything will be alright, I promise".

Weak from his time with Pitch, Jack accepts Jamie's hand and pulls himself up with some effort. When he gets to his feet, his body starts shaking from nervousness.

Mistaking his nerves for cold, Sophie pulls off her coat and wraps it around Jack's shoulders. "You're only wearing a hoodie; you must be cold," Sophie comments.

Feeling proud of his sister, Jamie pulls off his beanie and puts it on Jackson's head, then places an arm around his shoulders to help him stay upright as they begin to walk. "So how old are you?" he asks in an attempt at small talk.

Jack turns to Jamie, hesitating before deciding to lie. "Seventeen."

Looking down, Jamie chuckles. "Kinda small for your age, huh?" he teases, as he notices Jackson only comes up to his shoulder.

"You have no idea." Jack mumbles, glad to be around his old friend again, even if Jamie doesn't recognize him.

Jamie laughs at that, even though he doesn't quite understand it. Then turning a mischievous smirk from Jackson to Sophie, then back again, he says, "We're gonna have to get you to smile more!" He waves his free hand around animatedly as he continues. "Being sad is just boring. I am a firm believer that the secret to a long, happy life is _fun_, so once we get you all warmed up, I wanna see a real smile, alright?"

"You better listen to him, Jackson, he means it," Sophie laughs at her brother.

"Of course I mean it!" Jamie beams. "My best friend taught me that when I was a kid, and it's been how I live my life ever since."

Jack can't help but blush as he feels the corners of his mouth tug up into a small smile. Before he can really think about what he's doing, Jack wraps his arms around Jamie, overwhelmed and overjoyed that the boy hadn't forgotten him.

Jamie stops walking as Jackson hugs him, though he barely hesitates to return the hug as he feels the intensity in the boy's grip. It's apparently been quite some time since he's had someone to hold him.

Despite being over three centuries old, Jack feels so young and vulnerable around the now much older Jamie. With his arms around him like this, Jack's brought back to those winters spent playing with Jamie and his sister - all the snowball fights, times spent ice skating and sledding- and Jack just wants to cry. _Why did I ever think this was a good idea?_

Jamie tightens his hold as he feels the boy start to tremble. Bringing a hand up to rest on his head, he asks softly, "It's been a long time since you've had any fun, hasn't it?"

Jack just nods, not trusting himself not to break down crying if he says anything.

At first, his time with Pitch had been great - the older spirit really had seemed to understand Jack's loneliness and had been kind to him. But, whenever he had mentioned wanting to see Jamie, or played any pranks, Pitch had begun to treat him cruelly. It had started with Pitch just scolding him, but had quickly escalated into being struck. Now Jack lives in fear, wondering what he'll do next to deserve being hit.

One thing Pitch had kept his word on, however, was that he'd make Jack stronger. Through harsh training and more fear, Jack's heart had calloused over and his winters became colder and crueler, just as Pitch had.

Jamie stands there holding Jackson for several more minutes until the cold biting at his exposed ears finally makes him pull away. Smiling, he crouches down in front of the boy saying, "Hop on, your feet have got to be freezing".

Jack balks for a moment before conceding, climbing onto Jamie's broad back. "Thanks," he says softly, trying to hide his blush.

Sophie watches her brother with Jackson, and thinks about how Jamie had seemed to tame the wild animal that was this young boy, who's just a few years older than herself. The boy, who had seemed so frightened at first, had quickly warmed up to her brother.

"You'd make a great dad, Jamie," Sophie laughs, smiling. "I think you made the right choice, deciding to be a teacher."

Easily getting back to his feet with the light boy on his back, Jamie laughs at his sister. "I'd say my choice of career would be a given, considering who my role models are." He then blanches comically at her first comment. "And I love kids, don't get me wrong, but you know how spoiled those guys are gonna make our kids someday? Every year, they'll be expecting something even more extravagant!"

"Well, at least it would take the pressure off of us if they were the ones getting them the cool stuff," Sophie laughs. "But you're right, they'd be spoiled rotten, but so were we. Last I checked we turned out just fine."

Sophie smiles wistfully, thinking about her vague memories of Jack Frost who, for obvious reasons, had been much more attached to her older brother. He, more than any of the other Guardians who had been around them these past ten years, had influenced her brother. Though she could barely remember Jack herself, Jamie had told her so many wonderful stories about him and his snowball fights, she couldn't help but believe in the fun-loving winter spirit.

Jack zones out of the conversation as he remembers carrying Jamie just like this after he had helped the Guardians keep Pitch from ruining everyone's childhood with terrible nightmares. He wraps his thin arms around Jamie's neck but is careful not to squeeze too tight.

"Well, I know _I_ turned out fine. You're still up for debate, though," Jamie teases, eyes sparkling mischievously. He smiles as Jackson builds up the courage to hang on tighter, hoisting him up farther and beginning the short trek back to the house. "Doesn't he still come get you every year?"

"Yup." Sophie beams, sticking her tongue out at her brother. "Bet you wish he'd bring you, too."

"That's your thing, not mine," Jamie retorts, though he can't hide the chuckle in his voice.

"Who are you talking about?" Jacks asks curiously, though he has a good idea of who they mean. After all, he hoped he'd influenced the Guardians at least that much in his short time he'd spent with them.

Turning his head slightly so he can see Jackson over his shoulder, Jamie answers, "Oh, just the Easter Kangaroo. They're not supposed to have them, but Sophie's his favorite so he takes her every night before Easter to his Warren to help with all the last minute touch ups on the eggs". His voice is completely serious, though his face is whimsical, as if it's a perfectly normal thing for a twenty-year-old man to say.

"Bunny!" Sophie exclaims, laughing. "He's a bunny! Yet another habit you picked up from Frost."

"Kangaroo?" Jack chuckles. Though Sophie has no idea how much her comment affected him. _They remember me!_ He inwardly exclaims, suddenly very happy; more happy than he's been in years!

"Details," Jamie laughs, smirking at his sister. Then to Jackson, he answers, "_Technically_ he's the Easter Bunny, but he's like six feet tall and has an Australian accent. My best friend used to call him a kangaroo, irked him to no end, and it just kinda stuck with me".

Jack chuckles, though his throat constricts as he hears Jamie call him his best friend. He'd never had a best friend before! At that, Jack can no longer hold back his tears and they begin to fall, though now more from shame. _Why did I give this up? Why did I think Pitch was someone who could help me...?_

Surprised by the boy's sudden tears, Jamie stops in his tracks, craning his neck to look at him so he doesn't have to set him down in the cold snow again. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" he asks, alarmed. "We didn't freak you out did we?"

Jack's grip tightens, his tears still freely flowing. "N-No..." Jack mumbles through his tears. "It's not you."

Heart going out to the distraught boy, Jamie moves over to a nearby bench in the yard of his childhood home and kneels down to settle him on it. Then turning and squatting to be eye level with Jackson, he says gently, "You can talk to me if you want, you know. Whatever's bothering you, maybe we can can help, yeah?" A pause, then, "You don't have to be alone. Sophie and I will be here for you, right Soph?"

"Of course!" Sophie exclaims, nodding. "Jamie's helped me through a lot, and if it's a secret there's no one better than us to go to." She gives the boy a warm, encouraging smile as she comes to stand beside her brother in front of Jack. She places a comforting hand on his cold knee.

"You'll hate me if I tell you." Jack says quietly, unable to look at the siblings. His dark hair flops into his eyes, hiding them from Jamie and Sophie.

Jamie leans forward to rest his arms on his thighs, smiling gently at the younger boy. "Why don't you let us be the judges of that?"

"What if I told you _I_ am Jack Frost...?" He says softly, unable to look up into Jamie's brown eyes. He's not even sure he said it loud enough for the two to hear.

Whatever Jamie was expecting the boy to answer with, this certainly isn't it. His eyes grow impossibly wide, air feeling like it's in short supply as he breathes out, "You're...you're _Jack_?"

Jack nods, curling his legs up to his body. "I've made some bad choices..." Jack whispers, ashamed of himself.

Ignoring the boy's words, Jamie lunges forward, grabbing Jack and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug that knocks him back into the snow. "I knew you were alive," he says, the tears rolling down his cheeks evident in his voice. "I missed you, Jack. So much..."

Jack is happy beyond words to be accepted by the boy once again. This time the tears that stream down Jack's face are from happiness as he smiles. "I missed you, too, kiddo. You wouldn't believe how much," Jack says, returning the hug the best he can manage with his weak body.

Pitch had taken many things from him over the years, but there was one thing he'd never be able to take from him: Jamie Bennett.

Sophie watches the exchange with a shocked smile, happy for her brother.

Pulling back, hands still on Jack's shoulders, Jamie gives him a once over. Noticing all of the obvious changes with a hint of sadness at how frail his best friend and childhood hero has become, he says instead, "You've gotten smaller".

Jack rubs the back of his head and looks at the ground, ashamed. "I'm sorry," he blurts. "I've let you down..."

Raising an eyebrow at the abrupt subject change, Jamie asks, "What do you mean?"

"I messed up, Jamie. I joined Pitch," Jack answers, his voice small and words rushed. He shrinks back away from Jamie, unconsciously waiting to be struck.

Jamie is completely blindsided by this confession. He wants to ask why he would join someone like Pitch after everything they had been through; why he would choose that monster over his friends; why he abandoned him so long ago without even a "goodbye," but they all die in his throat as his best friend sits there tense, obviously expecting to be hit. By _Jamie_, of all people.

Reaching out as if expecting the Winter Spirit to take off running at any minute, Jamie gently grabs him once more and pulls him into another hug. "I still believe in you, Jack," he whispers.

Tense at first, Jack relaxes in Jamie's arms and hides his face in his coat, feeling like a little kid again. "Thank you," he says, his words muffled by Jamie's coat. "I thought he could understand me, Jamie. I don't know if I can get away."

"We'll get you away from him," Jamie says, not a hint of doubt in his voice. "We beat him once, we can do it again. You got any baby teeth left, Soph?"

Sophie nods, knowing where her brother's going with his question. "Yup. I even have a loose one." Sophie says, wiggling the tooth.

"I have to go back tonight." Jack says, looking at the sun hanging low in the sky. "I wasn't even supposed to talk to you." Jack looks at Jamie with dark, sad eyes. "And he's gotten much stronger. I don't know if we can stop him this time, Jamie."

Reluctantly, Jack pulls away from Jamie and stands. He wants nothing more than to stay with the children, but he already knows he'll be punished when he returns, and doesn't want to make it worse by returning late.

"Oh, I know you can't," the King of Nightmares sneers has he emerges from the shadow of the trees, Jack's forgotten staff in hand. "It was getting late, so I thought I'd check up on you, and guess what I find?" He tosses the staff into his other hand, looking at the iced over shepherd's crook with a critical eye. "You were doing so well, Jack. I guess I just gave you too much freedom for you to handle."

Snarling, Jamie jumps to his feet, standing protectively in front of the smaller male. "You stay away from him, Pitch!"

Jack's both shocked and horrified when Jamie moves to shield him from the Nightmare King. "Jamie, no! Get out of the way!" Jack pleads, trying to make him move. He has a horrible, sickening image of Jamie's crumpled, lifeless body laying in front of him running through his mind. "Please!"

"Why if it isn't Jamie Bennett," Pitch says, glaring at the young man. "My favorite believer. Regretfully, I don't have time to deal with you right now. You see, I seem to have an unruly child who just can't do what he's told." Turning to the cowering boy behind Jamie, he orders, "Come along, Jack".

"Don't you touch him, you freak!" Jamie spits, moving himself to stand completely in front to Jack.

"Jamie, please... Let me go..." Jack says softly. "I don't want him to hurt you..." He tries to get around the boy.

Standing beside her brother, Sophie takes his hand and shakes her head. "Let him go. There's nothing we can do for him but let him go. If we fight and lose right now, we'll only make it worse for him," Sophie whispers, squeezing Jamie's hand gently.

Jamie hesitates, not liking the situation one bit. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he takes a step toward his sister, griping her hand like a lifeline. "Everything'll be alright," he says, unclear whether he's reassuring Jack or himself. Then quieter, he utters, "We'll get help; we'll get you out of there. Believe in us, Jack".

Growing irritated by the pair of Bennetts, Pitch snaps, "Now, Jack!"

"I'm sorry," is all Jack says as he hurries to Pitch's side, not looking at the taller man for fear of provoking him. Jack has to fight the urge to look over his shoulder at Jamie and Sophie. Stopping beside Pitch, he waits, just hoping the man won't do anything to him here in front of the other two.

Sophie watches Jack's retreating back. He looks so much smaller and frailer than she had remembered. She feels her brother clinging to her and can only hope that he's right; that they can get the Guardians and save Jack before it's too late.

Glaring down his long nose at the boy, Pitch reaches up and grabs Jamie's beanie roughly, not caring if he pulls hair, and flings it onto the ground before doing the same with Sophie's coat. "Get those ridiculous things off of you," he snaps.

Jack lets out a soft cry of pain, some of his dark hair fluttering to the ground after having been ripped out. The winter spirit flinches as the coat is pulled off and thrown to the ground, having forgotten he was even wearing them. Jack has to bite his tongue and clench his fists to keep from doing something stupid - he's in no shape to try to take on Pitch alone, and he'd only be receiving an even more severe punishment.

Sophie holds her brother's hand tighter when she hears Jack cry out, hoping to keep him from doing something rash.

Jamie growls as he sees his friend get hurt, but remains still with the help of Sophie's grounding hold on him.

Grabbing the boy by the back of the neck tightly, Pitch mutters, "I'm very disappointed in you, Jack. I told you that you shouldn't make contact with Jamie". He digs his fingers into Jack's skin as the dark sand begins to envelope them.

Jack whimpers softly but otherwise remains quiet. He closes his eyes tight and bites his lower lip until it bleeds to keep from crying out again. He can only cringe as the sand curls around his body, taking him back to the last place he wants to go.

As they emerge back in the dark corridors of the lair, Pitch releases his hold on the ex-Guardian by throwing him to the ground. "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" he snarls.

Jack's body skids across the floor about a foot before stopping when he hits his head against the wall. Between the pain in his head and his fear of Pitch, Jack withdraws and curls into a trembling ball as he waits for his punishment.

As furious as Pitch is, Jack knows there's no chance of him going easy on him.

* * *

Spotting the touch of red on Jack's mouth before he disappeared, Sophie buries her face in Jamie's coat to keep herself from crying. She can only hope her brother hadn't seen the blood, too.

Jamie refuses to take his eyes off of Jack until the pair disappear from view, flinching as he sees the boy start bleeding. He finally tears his eyes away when there's no traces of the nightmare sand left. Turning to Sophie, he asks seriously, "How loose is that tooth?"

"Loose enough." Sophie says, her smile not extending to her eyes. The tooth actually isn't quite ready to come out, but she's willing to go through the pain to save Jack.

Going over and picking up the fallen hat and coat, Jamie heads back to the house, grim determination set on his normally cheerful features. "Let's get to work, then."

* * *

**A/N: Ghost here! I don't really have much to say about this chapter. There's a lot of dialogue, but that's to be expected with an RP. And in case you didn't notice from the last A/N, I wrote for Jamie, Pitch, Bunny, Tooth, and the Bennett mother in this story.**

**DISCLAIMER: We own nothing.**

**As always, reviews are loved! Let us know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Previously:_

_ "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?"_

_ As furious as Pitch is, Jack knows there's no chance of him going easy on him._

_~HOLD ME NOW~_

_ "How loose is that tooth?"_

_"Loose enough."_

_ Going over and picking up the fallen hat and coat, Jamie heads back to the house, grim determination set on his normally cheerful features. "Let's get to work, then." _

* * *

Chapter Four

Pitch slowly stalks toward the fallen boy, relishing in the fear rolling off of him in waves. Kneeling next to him, he whispers in his ear, "Care to tell me why you disobeyed my orders?"

"They saw me." Jack says, his voice trembling and barely audible. He can taste the metallic flavor of his blood as it trickles into his mouth from his busted lip. "I couldn't lie to him anymore."

"Of course you could have!" Pitch snaps, slapping Jack across the face. Taking hold of the front of his hoodie, he lifts him up off the ground saying, "You could have left at any time, yet you chose to go with them...to...their...HOUSE!" He balls up his fist, punching the boy in both the head and stomach with each word before letting him fall to the floor at his feet.

Jack groans from his position on the floor, too weak and in too much pain to move. He can feel the dark bruises blooming on his pale skin, and he's sure there's probably even a broken rib or two as even his shallow breathing is painful.

Though the pain's unbearable, Jack refuses to let the tears burning his eyes fall. He doesn't want to give Pitch that satisfaction.

"You know better than to interact with anyone. Why didn't you come back here when you were spotted? Well?" Pitch asks impatiently, though when the boy doesn't reply fast enough, he sends a kick into his ribs. "Answer me!"

"I n-needed to see J-Jamie," Jack gasps through the pain of surely another broken rib. Simply breathing sends razors of pain shooting through Jack's body, and when he starts coughing he feels as if he's being torn apart. He doesn't even notice the new little trickle of blood coming from his mouth as he wheezes.

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Pitch utters, "Wrong answer". He summons a tendril of sand, the end forming a sharp point. Without warning, he sends the spear to pierce the boy's thigh, pinning him to the floor. The King of Nightmares leans down, grabbing Jack's writhing face by the chin to look him in the eye. "Do you really think you can ever go back to them? They may care for you now, but once they find out what you've done these past ten years, they'll be utterly disgusted with you."

Jack can only scream in pain, his whole body feeling like it's being torn apart. "S-Stop! Please!" Jack pleads, his mind clouded with the pain.

"Oh, but I won't stop, Jack; I'll never stop," Pitch sneers sadistically. "You belong to me; you're my _property_. And no mere mortals are going to take you away from me."

Between the spear still in his leg and the other various wounds and bruises Jack can only whimper softly, barely breathing as he trembles in Pitch's grasp.

Face still in his hand, Pitch shoves the back of Jack's head into the wall with a sickening crack. He stands and summons thin, narrow strips of sand to act as whips, rolling the boy over to expose his back. He sends them crashing down, one at a time, onto the quivering frame in front of him, smiling sadistically when skin starts to break.

Jack's eyes loll half closed, feeling on the verge of passing out from the pain that radiates through his body. He can feel the blood running over his back from the whip marks, and every other bruise and injury, but his body is on the verge of breaking completely.

The level of torture Pitch puts him through would have killed a human long ago, but luckily or not, Jack is not human. He can only hope the darkness will come to consume him soon, and let him be free from pain for a while.

Growing bored of the half conscious Winter Spirit, Pitch brings a whip down one last time, harder than the others. As he turns on his heel to walk away, he reminds him, "You are to have no more contact with the Bennetts, is that clear?"

Jack can barely nod as the darkness closes in on the edges of his vision, and he's not even sure Pitch knows his reply as he passes out right there on the floor. Before he's out completely, one fat tear rolls down Jack's cheek, and his last thoughts are of the Bennett siblings.

With a final glare over his shoulder, Pitch walks back into the dark depths of the lair, satisfied that he got his pet under control once more.

* * *

Jamie leads the way upstairs to Sophie's room, sitting down on her bed once he arrives. "So," he starts, "how do you wanna do this? It's your tooth, after all".

"I don't really care, as long as we get it out. The quicker the better, though - I have a bad feeling about this," Sophie says, hugging herself as she leans against the door.

Jamie nods his agreement. He can't help but feel like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. Shaking his head to rid himself of those thoughts, he pats the bed next to him for Sophie to sit down. "Let's see what we can do about that tooth."

Sophie sits beside her brother and shows him the tooth.

Glancing in at said tooth, Jamie asks, "How loose is it?"

"Loose enough," Sophie says, wiggling the tooth.

"Good." Some of the familiar spark returning to his eyes, Jamie asks, "Do you wanna just rip it out, or be a bit more creative?"

"Just rip it out, I guess," Sophie says. "I've seen YouTube - that creative stuff never works!"

Jamie laughs at that. "Alright, have it your way." Grabbing a box of tissues off the nearby nightstand, he adds, "You wanna loose it up a bit more before we do this?"

"I guess. It's pwetty cwose, doh." Sophie says, her hand in her mouth still wiggling the tooth in an attempt to loosen it up.

"Let me know when you're ready," Jamie laughs.

Giving up, Sophie turns to her brother. "Just do it," she says, determined to help Jack.

Nodding, Jamie grabs a tissue and wraps his fingers around the small tooth. "You ready?"

Grabbing a tissue of her own, Sophie makes a soft sound before closing her eyes, preparing herself for the pain she knows is about to come. _Just remember - this is for Jack. I'm sure he's going through worse right now..._ Sophie thinks, waiting for her brother.

"Alright, on three," Jamie says. "One..." Before getting to two, he pulls hard on the tooth, gripping it tightly so as not to lose it. He winces at the pain he just caused his sister, but is grateful to feel a small object in his fingers. "Sorry," he apologizes.

Sophie winces and her eyes water, but with the tooth out only a bloody hole is left so she quickly stuffs the tissue to soak up some of the blood.

"'Is ok," Sophie mumbles around the tissue stuck in her mouth. She tries to give her brother a reassuring smile, but it's hard with the tissue stuffed in the empty socket.

Jamie wraps the tooth up in the tissue, then hands it to Sophie. Scooting closer, he puts his arms around her, resting his head on hers. "We're gonna save him with this, Soph."

Taking the tooth from her brother, Sophie settles into his arms. Jamie is warm and comfortable, and suddenly she finds herself thinking about Jack, and the fact he hadn't had anyone do something as simple as hug him in years, if not centuries.

With that in mind, Sophie closes her eyes and moves a little closer to her beloved big brother.

Settling against the headboard, Jamie asks, "You sure you're doing alright?" He hates the fact that he caused his precious little sister any pain, even if it is to save his best friend.

"Yeah." Sophie nods, pulling the tissue out to check if she's still bleeding. "I'm worried about Jack. I remember how torn up you were when he disappeared, and I don't want you to go through that again." Sophie looks at her brother with big green eyes, her tousled blond hair falling over one eye.

Resting his head back, he looks at her out of the corner of his eye as he says, "I am too. I know we can get him back with the Guardians' help, but it's just," he closes his eyes as he sighs, "I'm afraid of what Pitch is doing to him in the meantime..."

"I know, I am too. But there wasn't anything we could do to stop him from taking Jack. Had we fought, whatever punishment he's getting now would have been worse," Sophie says, taking one of her brother's hands in her own. "We'll get him back."

"I know you're right," Jamie replies, squeezing Sophie's hand in return. Opening his eyes again, he continues. "But Jack just looked so...so broken. I can't even imagine what he's gone through to make him like that." His throat tightens as he remembers the frightened, battered state his friend was in.

"His time with Pitch obviously wasn't what he had hoped for," Sophie says, looking out the window at the last rays of light before the sun sets. "We should get to bed - Tooth will be here soon and then we'll get the Guardians to help us get Jack back." Sophie squeezes her brother's hand.

"You're right," Jamie answers, stifling a yawn. "I have a feeling it's gonna be a long night." Giving Sophie one last squeeze, he stands and grabs an extra pillow and a blanket off the foot of her bed. "I'll just camp out in here until she gets here."

Sophie nods, grabbing her night clothes before heading to the bathroom to change.

Jamie tosses the pillow down on the floor beside Sophie's bed, then kicks off his shoes by the wall and lays down, covering himself up and trying to get comfortable on the floor.

When Sophie returns, she hops over her brother and onto the bed before snuggling into her nest of blankets and pillows. "Let me know if you aren't comfortable," Sophie says, placing the tooth under her pillow. "My bed's a little small, but you can sleep up here with me if you'd like."

Jamie chuckles into his pillow at that. "Thanks Soph, but I don't wanna give Tooth a heart attack. Besides, I live in the dorms; my bed's about as comfortable as your floor."

Sophie giggles before settling under her covers. "Night, Jamie." She says, turning out the light next to her bed.

"Night, Sophie," Jamie replies, rolling over.

* * *

"Alright, ladies, tonight is a very special night!" Tooth beams as she flutters excitedly around her fairies. "Sophie's lost her very last baby tooth!"

Scooping up Baby Tooth as she whizzes by, she asks, "How about we go do this one personally?" She giggles at her daughter's happy chirping. "Let's get to work!" With that, she zooms out of the Palace, setting course for Burgess.

In no time, they stop outside the familiar home of Sophie Bennett. Pulling open the window and stepping inside, the pair can barely contain their enthusiasm at seeing their favorite little girl again, fast asleep.

Sophie wakes to hear a soft fluttering sound in her room. First, she looks over to see her brother sleeping beside her on the floor and smiles softly, having forgotten he'd come home for Christmas.

When she hears the sound again, she turns to see Tooth, and suddenly the reason why her tooth had been pulled in the first place - Jack.

"Hey Tooth." Sophie says softly.

The fairy squeals quietly. "Oh, Sophie! It's so good to see you!"

Jamie lets out a soft snore as he turns onto his back, the long nights studying leaving him dead to the world.

At hearing a strange noise, Tooth cocks her head to the side curiously. "What was that?"

"Jamie," Sophie answers, giggling. "He's home for Christmas and I should wake him up. He'll want to talk to you.

"Jamie? Hey, Jamie," Sophie says, gently shaking her brother's shoulders. "Wake up - Tooth's here."

Jamie blinks into consciousness with a very intelligent, "Huh?"

Tooth can't help but laugh as she flutters up to see the very disoriented college student in the floor. "It's been a while, Jamie. It's good to see you again."

Sophie laughs at her brother and, realizing he'll be useless for another few minutes, decides to tell Tooth their news herself. "Tooth, we saw Jack today," Sophie says, her face serious as she watches her brother instead of looking at the fairy.

Caught off guard, Tooth stutters, "W-what? Where? When? Was he okay?"

"Here. Earlier today. No," Sophie replies. "He's in rough shape, Tooth. We have to help him!"

Pushing himself up to sit on the bed, Jamie adds quietly, "Pitch hurts him...bad".

Any excitement Tooth felt is sucked out at this news. "We've been searching for him, but...does he even want to come back?" she asks, almost afraid of the answer.

Sophie nods. "But he's so weak he can't just leave on his own. We're scared if we don't hurry, Jack might be killed - Pitch was furious when they left. We have to bring him back."

"We figured with you and the other's help, we might stand a chance at getting him back," Jamie says.

Tears spring up in Tooth's eyes, but she fights them back as she says, "Of course. We'll do everything we can. Things just haven't been the same without him." Turning to Baby Tooth, she orders, "I need you to stay here with Jamie and Sophie. I'll be right back, okay?"

At the affirmative nod, Tooth turns to the others in the room. "I'm going to go get North, and we'll take you somewhere we can all talk, alright?"

"Thanks," Sophie tells the fairy. "I'm sure Jack would want to thank you, too."

With one last glace and a nod at the siblings, Tooth shoots out the window and heads straight to Santoff Claussen. It doesn't take her but a minute with how hard and fast she's flying, before she's darting through the colorful hallways and bursting into Nicholas St. North's workshop.

North is in his workshop, putting the finishing touches on an ice model of a toy horse. It moves just like a real horse, but also flies around as well.

After just about having to start the little horse over again when a handful of elves traipsed through his workshop, bumping into everything and picking stuff up, he's finally relaxed into a good rhythm again.

"North!" Tooth shouts, out of breath from her quick flight. "It's Jack..." She lands on the ground, panting to catch her breath.

"Easy, Tooth. Breathe!" North exclaims, leaving the horse on his desk to stand by the fairy. "What is the matter?"

Taking a moment to get her breathing back to normal, she finally straightens. "Jamie and Sophie, they found Jack." Solemnly, she adds, "They say he's in bad shape, North".

"What d'ya mean 'bad shape'?" Asks Bunny, who emerges from one of his tunnels in the middle of the floor. At Tooth's questioning look, he says, "Got a feeling I should come ovah here, glad I did now".

"Where is he?" North asks, his blue eyes wide. "Why did he wait until now?"

"Apparently he was outside Jamie and Sophie's house," Tooth answers. "I don't know any more than that. I told them I'd come get you to help me bring them back here."

"Then what we waiting for! Sandy!" North shouts to his friend who had been sleeping in a corner of the room. "Sandy!"

The little sleeping man starts awake at the sound of his voice and stares at the other Guardians, still groggy with sleep.

"If it's all the same to you, mate, I'm gonna wait for ya here," Bunny says, already feeling a bit queasy at the thought of taking the sleigh.

Tooth chuckles, her fluttering betraying her nervousness over the whole situation.

The little man chimes at North in agreement with Bunny.

"Why, Bunny? Don't you want to help find Jack?" North asks, looking at the rabbit in surprise.

"Of course I do," Bunny snaps. "You're comin' right back here, ain't ya?"

"That is plan. But things rarely go as planned when Jack is involved." North says, smiling at Bunny.

Knowing the large man has a point, Bunnymund growls, "Fine. But try to drive a little more carefully, will ya?"

"Where is fun in that?" North's eyes sparkle with mischief as he smiles at his old friend and rival.

"You have a weird definition of fun, mate," Bunny grumbles heading for the door.

Sandy chimes to the others, letting them know he thinks he should stay in case something happens here at Santoff Claussen.

Tooth gives the remaining Guardian a warm, yet sad smile. "We'll be back soon, Sandy."

North chuckles as he leads the group to his sleigh, this time the reindeer are even wilder and more rambunctious than before as it's nearing Christmas and they haven't been out for a while.

Still grumbling, Bunny climbs into the back, noticing there _still_ aren't any seat belts. He grabs the side in a death grip, ignoring Tooth as she settles in next to him.

North gives a belly-shaking laugh as he climbs in, flicks the reins, and off they go to Burgess.

Bunny grits his teeth during the entire ride, not daring to breathe until they pull up to a stop on top of the Bennett house.

Not wasting a minute, Tooth flies out and darts back to the window to inform the two humans that help has arrived.

Sophie looks up from where she's sitting on her bed just in time to see Tooth come flying in her window. "I'm glad you guys aren't holding this against Jack," Sophie says softly. "He sounded so frail."

"We could never hold it against him," Tooth replies. "Pitch used his own doubts against him, and he was young enough to fall for it."

Bunny walks into the room through the door, having come in through the chimney with North. "That's right," he agrees. "Frostbite was gullible, but he's not stupid. It was only a mattah of time before he came to his senses."

"I just hope we're not too late," Jamie says quietly. "Pitch was really upset when they left..."

Sophie looks up at the group of Guardians from her place on the bed with a big smile. "So, how are we going to go about Operation: Frostbite?" Sophie asks, using Bunny's nickname for Jack.

Cracking his knuckles, Bunny says, "I say we go in and bust some heads".

"But Jack said that Pitch has gotten much stronger than he was last time," Jamie points out, ignoring the Easter Bunny's mutter of, "Killjoy". "We've gotta come up with some sort of plan to get him out."

"What about Nightmares? Is he still using them?" North asks.

"Jack didn't say, but I'd imagine so," Jamie answers. "How are you guys doing with believers?"

"Down a little, but mostly same," North says, trying to recall the number of lights on the globe in his workshop. "He hasn't tried to attack children yet like last time. But many populations are aging, so our believers are, too."

"Is there anyone else he'd go after? Like teenagers or adults?" Sophie muses, sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"I've noticed a lot of people have been losin' hope lately," Bunny says, crossing his arms. "I thought it was jus' the economy, but now I'm not so sure."

"So he's targeting adults now?" Tooth asks.

Jamie hums in thought, leaning back on his arms. "It'd make since, I think. Considering all the kids who helped bring him down last time are all adults now." Glancing at Sophie, he adds, "Well, most of them. Revenge would also explain why he went after Jack".

North swears softly in Russian. "This complicates things. Much harder to protect those who don't believe."

"I think that's the point, mate," Bunny sighs.

Leaning forward again to rest his elbows on his legs, Jamie says, "I think the first thing we need to do is get Jack out of there. We can worry about Pitch later".

Sophie nods in agreement. "With the way he looked earlier, it won't take much for Pitch to completely destroy him. At least he's still himself right now." Sophie fingers the hem of her pajamas, frightened for the frail boy she'd seen earlier today. "We didn't even know it was him at first. He looks totally different."

Tooth nods her head sadly. "It's common for our appearances to be effected like that. Like when Bunny shrunk down ten years ago," she continues over said rabbit's complaining about promising never to talk about that again. "It's natural that Jack would have changed a lot after being with Pitch for so long".

"I always remembered Jack as being tall and thin." Sophie says. "But he looked like a skeleton. And both his eyes and hair were dark, and he was filthy."

Bunny shares an alarmed look with the other Guardians. "That's not good."

"What do you mean?" Jamie asks, worry clear in his voice.

Wringing her hands together, Tooth answers, "While it's true that we're immortal and can't really die, we can...break. Our purpose and believers keep us from breaking, but with how few Jack has and Pitch's influence, if he stays like that for much longer, well...he won't be the Jack we know and love anymore".

Sophie looks at her brother, fear obvious on her face. If Jack truly breaks like Tooth said, she has no idea how her brother would handle it. One thing for sure is that she knows her gentle, sweet older brother would never be the same.

Jamie feels as if someone just pulled the rug out from under his feet. He puts his head in his hands, almost feeling like he'll be sick at hearing this news. "I can't lose him," he mumbles. "Not again."

Sophie reaches down to pull one of Jamie's hands into her own. Although she doesn't say anything, she gives his hand a reassuring squeeze.

Jamie glances up and smiles at his sister, giving her a silent, "thank you".

Sophie gives her brother a sweet smile before turning back to the Guardians. "Now that we have an idea of what he's doing, what can we do about it?"

"Good question," Bunny hums, stumped.

Looking from the humans to the other Guardians, Tooth suggests, "Maybe we should head back, so we can get Sandy's input".

Sophie nods before releasing Jamie's hand finally. "Just let me get changed real quick." Crossing over to her closet, she grabs a pair of jeans and a hoodie before taking off to get changed.

Jamie stands as well, slipping on his shoes and coat.

When Sophie returns, she's dressed and ready to go, already wearing the coat Pitch had thrown off of Jack and and her boots. She's also carrying a small bag with a first aid kit, a blanket, and some food.

Tapping his foot on the ground, Bunny says, "I'll meet ya there. The sleigh's, uh...gonna be crowded".

Jamie sits in the back of the sleigh, stuck in the middle between his sister and the Tooth Fairy. No matter how much older he gets, or how many roller coasters he rides, nothing can ever top the rush that comes with riding in Santa's sleigh.

"Everyone loves the sleigh," North chuckles before flicking his wrists. With a lurch, the sleigh takes off into the sky.

As Bunny zips through his tunnels, he can't help but be reminded of ten years ago on his way to the same location. He picks up his pace, not liking the feeling that something just isn't _right_.

* * *

Pitch makes his way to his fallen companion, eying the broken heap with a sneer of disgust as he stops just before him. Giving the boy a kick, he demands, "Get up. We've work to do".

Jack groans as the world around him is brought back into sharp focus due to Pitch's kick. All at once his pain returns to him, as well - the broken ribs, his throbbing head and the various aches and pains that wrack his thin frame.

Jack tries to force himself up into a sitting position, and barely manages it.

Growing impatient, Pitch grabs the boy by the upper arm, hauling him to his feet. "You've had enough rest. Let's go."

It's all Jack can do not to cry out as he's pulled to his feet. It feels like Pitch is trying to pop his shoulder from its socket.

Not waiting for Jack to settle on his feet, Pitch brings up his black sand around them, carrying them off to Santoff Claussen. They emerge in a dark, empty room, and only then does he release his hold on the ex-Guardian. "You are to go out there and destroy the workshop, understood?"

Jack's eyes are wide and he stumbles a step away from Pitch. "I-What?" He asks, alarmed. "I can't do that!" The panic is clear in the boy's voice as he stares at Pitch. He can't even remember the last time he was here, and now Pitch wants him to destroy it?

Pitch grabs the boy by the hair, jerking his head back harshly. "You _will_ go out there. Unless you need a repeat of your lesson earlier."

Jack flinches, which only serves to pull his hair more. "No! I... I'll do it..." Jack's eyes are wide with fear.

Dragging the boy over to the door, Pitch opens it and shoves Jack outside roughly. "Then stop wasting time."

Jack stumbles into the room, narrowly avoiding falling. He grips his staff as he looks around for a moment, taking in the sights and memories of the place he'd called home for a while before reluctantly beginning his job.

Eyes closed, Jack sends out a pulse of ice that covers everything around him. The room looks as if someone had splashed liquid nitrogen on everything. The objects in the room are now just as fragile as if he had, and Jack begins to swing his staff, first breaking unimportant things like small decorations, but then moves on to bigger things like desks and chairs.

Jack's eyes are glazed as he completely destroys the room, moving as if on autopilot.

Pitch emerges in the main room, where he can sense a familiar presence nearby. "Well, if it isn't my dear old friend, The Sandman. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Sandy jumps before glaring at Pitch, chiming at him as he flashes obscenities at him over his head in golden sand. With puffed out cheeks and his shoulders drawn up to his ears, Sandy asks about Jack, just as he hears a loud crash coming from the back of Santoff Claussen.

Chuckling at the noise, Pitch answers, "I believe that's him now. It's truly astounding how obedient he can be once you've gotten rid of that nasty little desire for fun".

Jack continues on his rampage, only stopping when everything in the room has been reduced to glittering shards of its former self.

Standing in the middle of the destruction, the boy pants, holding his side.

Sandy looks at Pitch with wide eyes before creating a whip from his golden sand.

With a smirk, Pitch sneers, "So that's how you want to play it, eh? Very well. Jack! Get in here". He summons a few Nightmares behind him, who whinny and stamp the ground agitatedly.

Upon hearing his name, Jack looks up. Still holding his side, he stumbles into the room where Pitch had called him from, and is startled to see the little golden man standing before Pitch, a whip in his hand.

"Sandy?" Jack says in a small voice, limping forward slowly.

Sandy stares at Jack, his golden eyes wide as he takes in the boy's changes.

"Don't just stand there," Pitch snaps impatiently. "Get rid of him!"

Jack stares at Pitch, horrified at what the man wants him to do. "I can't do that..." Jack mumbles, looking at the ground.

With a snarl, Pitch launches a tendril of sand at Jack, wrapping it around his neck and dragging him close at a painful speed. "If you value your well-being at all, you'll FIGHT!" He tightens the sand as he shouts.

Jack claws at the sand wrapped around his throat, gasping for breath.

"N-No..." Jack gasps, looking at the little man.

With a smile, Sandy cracks his whip at Pitch.

* * *

It doesn't take long for the sleigh to travel to Santoff Claussen, and there's a harried yeti standing there, waiting for North. With a rush of growling and grumbling sounds, he tries to get North's attention.

"Slow down, Phil! What is wrong?"

Jamie sits up straighter, knowing something is wrong, but not understanding the yeti to know what it is.

"Pitch is _what!?_" North thunders, even the yeti flinching from him. "That is no good...We must hurry - Pitch and Jack are here!" North explains, rushing into his workshop. "And Pitch has Jack destroying the place."

Sophie blanches when she hears Jack and Pitch are here, but quickly follows North, clutching the bag to her chest.

At the mention of Jack, Jamie darts off after the large man, wanting to get in there and help his friend as quickly as possible.

Ordering a quick, "Wait here," to her daughter, Tooth flies after the others.

* * *

Seeing the whip coming at him out of the corner of his eye, Pitch holds up an arm to block it, growling as it wraps around the appendage painfully.

Finally reaching his destination, Bunny jumps out of his tunnel, only to see a completely unexpected sight before him: Sandy with a whip trapping Pitch, who in turn has Jack in a constricting hold with his own sand.

"You get yer filthy hands off 'o him!" shouts the Pooka, letting fly a boomerang that slices through the black sand holding Jack.

Free, Jack falls to the ground gasping for air. His throat is raw as his lungs are flooded with precious air and his ribs are as sore as ever.

Sandy jerks the whip, the lash biting into Pitch's arm as he pulls the taller man with a smirk.

Barely managing to remain on his feet with the force of the tug, Pitch glares at the pair. "You'll regret that, rabbit." With a wave of his free hand, the Nightmares take off after him.

He turns his focus back to Sandy, sending dark spears straight at the smaller man.

Sandy quickly throws up a wall of his golden Dreamsand, blocking the spears. In retaliation, Sandy sends a set of golden spears straight at Pitch as he lets go of Pitch's arm, only to wrap the lash around his neck.

Bunny catches the boomerang easily as it returns to him, then uses his powerful back legs to jump over one horse, slicing it's neck as he flips in the air. Landing on light feet, he spins and faces the next Nightmare. He grabs an egg bomb off of his sash and shoves it in the foaming mouth of the rearing animal before jumping out of the way of the resulting explosion.

Barely out of breath, he darts over to Jack, helping him up with a worried, "You awright, mate?"

Jack looks up to his old friend with a small smile and mumbles, "Not really," before wincing and coughing.

North stumbles onto the scene of chaos as Pitch and Sandy battle it out in the middle of the room, before he notices a Nightmare stalking Bunny as he kneels beside Jack.

Drawing his swords, North attacks the creature. With his arms crossed, he thrusts the blades at the horse's neck. Pulling his arms apart, the black head of the Dreamsand horse slices away easily before the animal disintegrates into a pile of sand.

Sophie watches her childhood heroes as they battle it out, her hand covering her mouth. She was too young to remember the first battle with Pitch, so she had no idea what they were capable of.

"Thanks," Bunny grunts, carefully lifting the frail boy into his arms. He quickly makes his way over to the pair of humans, handing Jack to Jamie's awaiting arms.

"Get 'im somewhere safe; take some yetis with ya." With that, he leaps back into the fray, boomerangs at the ready.

Jamie carefully adjusts Jack in his hold, trying his hardest not to disturb the many fresh wounds on him. With a quick nod at Sophie and some lingering yetis, he takes off down the halls in search of a safe place to hide him.

Tooth soars into another Nightmare, using her wings to slice through it. "There's no end to them!"

Pitch allows himself to dissolve into sand, reforming behind the Sandman. As he goes for a swipe at his head, he's forced to jump back to avoid being bludgeoned by a boomerang wielding Easter Bunny.

Sandy spins around, cracking his whip at Pitch's face. He looks as dangerous as ever as he glares at Pitch. His chiming is at odds with his face as he lashes out with the whip, symbols and figures dancing over his head.

North growls as he slashes away at the Nightmares, taking out his pent-up fury on the creatures.

Sophie looks at Jack with wide green eyes, suddenly very glad she'd brought the kit along.

"My God, Jack... What has he done to you?" Sophie asks softly, her hand over her mouth again. She didn't think it was possible for the boy to look much worse than he had yesterday, but he did. He looked like he'd been used as a punching bag as fresh, ugly bruises bloomed all over his body, and he was clutching at his side. The poor boy tried to hide the flinch that came with every one of her brother's steps, but she saw them.

Jack closes his eyes and lets Jamie carry him, trying not to show just how beat up he is.

Pulling into a well lit room, Jamie eases Jack down on a small bed by the wall with a command to the yetis to guard the door. He lays the boy down on the side he's not gripping tightly as he notices the many gashes on his back.

"You're gonna be alright," he finds himself muttering. "We've got you now. You're gonna be okay..."

Pitch grunts as he dodges another swing from Bunny, but can't move fast enough to avoid getting a whip across the side of his face. With a snarl, he growls, "Don't think you've won this. Jack is mine; I _will_ have him back".

At that, sand envelopes him and he disappears in a burst of black.

* * *

A/N: Anime Angel Alchemist here! I have to say, I love the parts between Jack and Jamie, and Jack and Pitch, even if the parts with Pitch make me want to cry. Even in the movie, Jack and Pitch are such deep characters, full of pain and anger, that I can only hope we're doing them justice. And can I just say that North is so much _fun_? The way he butchers common sayings is great, and hopefully I'm not driving you nuts trying to do his accent.

Rate & Review 3

~AAA


	5. Chapter 5

_Previously:_

_"You're gonna be alright," Jamie finds himself muttering. "We've got you now. You're gonna be okay..."_

_~HOLD ME NOW~_

_"Don't think you've won this. Jack is mine; I ____will__ have him back". _

_At that, sand envelopes Pitch and he disappears in a burst of black._

* * *

Chapter Five

Bunny lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding as the room goes painfully silent. He scans the room, checking for any injuries and, once he's satisfied they're all minor, finally relaxes from his tense position.

Daring to be the first to speak, Tooth nearly whispers, "Where's Jack?"

"Jamie has him." North says, finally allowing the tips of his two blades to drop to the floor.

"We should see if they're okay," Bunny suggests, not completely knowing where to look for them in the large workshop.

* * *

Jack stares at Jamie with vacant eyes, barely able to recognize the boy he protected all those years ago through his haze of pain.

He reaches out and touches Jamie's face with a weak, trembling hand, giving him a soft smile. "Thank you."

Not wasting any time, Sophie opens the bag and dumps everything out onto a nearby table. Moving the blanket to the side for later, she digs around for some antiseptic and a salve to put on Jack's open wounds. Finding a can and a jar, she asks her brother, "Can you get his hoodie off? I need to get something on those marks on his back before they get infected."

Jamie nods. Helping him sit up, he scoots over to allow Jack to lean on his chest as he gently works the boy's arms out of his sleeves, uttering quiet apologies with each hiss of pain. He breathes a sigh of relief when the hoodie finally comes up over his head, but the air is knocked right back out of him at the sight of Jack's battered body.

Tears well up in his eyes as he takes in the many bruises in the shapes of fists, hands, and feet marring his too pale flesh. Then the large mark on his side, indicating broken ribs and the obvious whip marks covering his back.

"I'm sorry," he says, not even knowing exactly what he's apologizing for. He leans down and rests his head on top of the other boy's own. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault." Jack says, gripping Jamie as Sophie comes up behind him. He looks at the girl quizzically when she hands him a thin piece of wood. She makes a motion that looks like she's eating.

Jack's eyes widen when he realizes what she intends and places the wood between his teeth.

"I'm sorry Jack, but this is going to hurt. Just hang on to Jamie." Sophie apologizes.

Trying not to give him much time to think about it, she begins spraying the open whip marks with the antiseptic spray. She cringes when Jack hisses, but continues. Thankfully it doesn't take long, and she wipes away the excess.

After letting the spray dry, she finds a roll of bandages and picks up the jar. Gingerly, Sophie begins to apply the salve to the wounds.

Jack tries his hardest to stay quiet as Sophie works on him, but can't help letting out the occasional hiss or whimper when she touches especially sore spots. It doesn't take her long to finish with his back.

"Sorry. Jamie, can you help him turn over? I'd like to try to get his chest and stomach." Sophie asks, looking at her brother.

"Of course," Jamie agrees. As gently as possible, he shifts to grab Jack by the shoulders and rolls him so he's leaning back against his chest. He wraps one arm tenderly around the thin shoulders, and the other hand sets on the boy's head, running comforting fingers through his hair.

There aren't as many open wounds on his front, mostly bruises, so Jack lets the piece of wood fall from his mouth to the bed.

Once again, Sophie descends on him, first with the spray, then with the salve. When she's done, she looks up at him, tears in her green eyes.

"Now I just need to get you bandaged up. It'll help to support your ribs, and protect your injuries." Sophie says, picking up the roll of bandage she'd set out earlier. "I'll just need you to sit up while I wrap you up."

Jack complies, and Sophie bends forward in front of him. In a position almost like she's hugging him, she wraps the bandage tightly around his torso until it looks like he's wearing a shirt. Satisfied with her work, she steps back.

"I saw you had a puncture wound on your thigh - I'll need to take care of that, too. I don't know what happens to you guys if you get an infection, but I'm sure it's not pleasant."

Jack blushes when he realizes that means having to take off his pants in front of Sophie, but knows he needs to.

Jamie can't help but chuckle at his friend's blush. "It's just Sophie, Jack. No need to be embarrassed," he laughs. "You need any help?"

Jack nods as he pulls his pants down. When he gets to the spot where the spear had stabbed him, he cringes, the blood having stuck his pants to his leg.

"A little help, Soph?" Jamie asks, helping the boy as much as he can from his awkward vantage point behind him.

Sophie rolls her eyes and kneels by Jack's leg. Slowly and carefully, she helps the blushing boy peel the fabric away from his leg. Jack hisses, but otherwise manages to remain quiet.

When Sophie gets the fabric pulled away from the wound, he's able to kick his pants the rest of the way off. Jack is left sitting on the bed with nothing but his underwear and some bandages on, and feeling very vulnerable in front of the Bennett siblings.

Once the boy is free of the bloodied pants, Jamie helps him settle into a more comfortable position to allow Sophie to bandage up his leg.

Still blushing, Jack leans against his friend as Sophie goes to work, doing the same to his leg as she had his other wounds. When she finishes, he feels on the verge of passing out from the pain and Sophie grabs a blanket and throws it over the boy's almost naked body.

Jack gives Sophie a grateful smile as she sits on the edge of the bed beside him.

Leaning against the wall to get more comfortable, Jamie glances down at Jack, asking softly, "You feeling any better?"

"Now? I feel like I've been run over," Jack chuckles, wincing when it jostles his ribs. "But I'll survive."

Sophie hands Jack a bottle of water and a couple round white pills.

"It's not much, but I can give you a couple Excedrin for now to ease the pain a little. Anything better and you need to get it from a doctor." She winks.

Jack downs the pills and water, not having realized until now just how thirsty he had been.

Jamie chuckles, feeling incredibly relieved to finally have his best friend by his side after ten long years. Waiting for Jack to finish drinking, he adds with a smirk, "For the record, you look like you've been run over too".

Jack's only reply is to stick his tongue out and try to stifle his laughing. He settles for smiling fondly at the brother and sister duo, glad he'd chosen to become a Guardian those years ago, and hoping the other Guardians will accept him back into their fold.

North sends the door to the room flying open with a bang, causing Jack and Sophie to jump. "Here you are!" North exclaims, dodging his yetis to see Jack laying on the bed. "Jack!" He has to resist the urge to grab the boy up into a bone crushing hug.

Tooth darts in after the large man, barely able to contain her excitement at seeing the youngest Guardian. "Jack! Oh, it's so good to see you! We've missed you so much!"

Bunny follows the pair, rolling his eyes at their enthusiasm. "It's about time you came back, Frostbite," he says, not able to hide the affection in his voice.

Last but not least, Sandy comes in, chiming his welcome to Jack.

Jack can't help but turn beat red at all the attention. After all those years spent with Pitch, he's not used to the kindness of others anymore. He begins to fidget a bit under everyone's gaze.

Picking up on the boy's discomfort, Bunny says, "Awright, awright, let 'im breathe".

Looking abashed, Tooth backs up from Jack, having been uncomfortably close. "Sorry, Jack," she mutters.

"It's alright." Jack says. "I'm glad you guys are all okay."

Looking around at the people surrounding him, from the Sophie to Tooth, North to Sandy, and Jamie to Bunny, Jack can't help but feel miserable about his past choice. "I'm so sorry about ten years ago. I was an idiot," Jack says, not looking at anyone. "I was so stupid."

Ruffling Jack's hair a bit, Jamie replies, "Hey now, none of that. No one here holds it against you, right?"

"Of course not!"

Bunny grunts, arms crossed as he answers, "You _were_ stupid, but even I don't hold a grudge that long". He conveniently ignores the grudge he held over the blizzard of '68.

Sandy chimes in agreement.

"Of course not, my boy! We were all worried sick about you! Jamie, though, it was tough. But he is good man now." North beams, placing a hand on Jamie's shoulder.

Jack stares at Jamie for a moment. "I owe the biggest apology to you, though, kiddo. I promised I'd be there for you, but the last time I'd seen you was the day I'd disappeared. I missed ten years of your life. I should have been there to help you through everything."

As Jack talks, a tear slides down his face as he thinks of everything he missed - all the snowball fights, snowmen and days spent sledding gone.

"But you're here now." Sophie says.

"Sophie's right," Jamie agrees. "It's true that it wasn't easy with you gone...I cried nearly every day after I realized you weren't coming back. Winters were never the same; I played out in the snow with Sophie to keep your memory alive but, well...nothing beats playing with Jack Frost," he gives a sad chuckle at this, but presses on. "The other kids all stopped believing after a while...I guess that's just part of growing up. I never could forget you, though. After everything we had been through together, there was just no way for me to accept that it had all been a dream...but you're here now, Jack. That's all that matters. We've got the rest of my life to have more snowball fights, and I can't think of anything that would make me happier."

Nothing said that evening had made Jack happier than what Jamie had just told him. Despite the pain it causes him, Jack gives a happy chuckle.

"You've no idea what that means to me, Jamie," Jack says, reaching up to try to wrap the boy in a one-armed hug. "North's right, you've become a fine man. And I'll be here for you. Even if you should forget about me, I'll be there. It won't be like my last promise, I won't let Pitch or anyone else sway me again. When I get better, I need to confront Pitch, and show him I'm not one of his toys anymore."

Jamie happily returns the hug, though he doesn't squeeze very hard for fear of hurting the boy further. "I could never forget about you."

Turning to North, Jack looks up at him sheepishly. "And I'm sorry about your workshop, North."

"Never mind my workshop. That can be rebuilt. You concentrate on getting better," North sighs, smiling at Jack.

"Just don't you forget you're not alone in this, mate," Bunny says seriously. "The rest of us will be right by your side should Pitch show his ugly face around here again. Don't be afraid to ask for help once in a while, yeah?"

"Yeah... Thanks guys," Jack says, his smile guilty.

Noticing the boy looks even paler than usual, Sophie turns to the Guardians and gently tries to get them to leave. "Jack's exhausted, guys. He needs to get some rest if he's going to get better." Sophie ignores Jack's halfhearted protests. "The whole thing has taken a toll on him."

Agreeing with his favorite girl, Bunny drags a very reluctant Tooth Fairy out of the room with an order of, "Get some rest, Frostbite".

"You wanna lay down?" Jamie asks, perfectly comfortable where he's at, but wanting Jack to be able to rest.

"I'm good if you are." Jack says, not wanting to admit he doesn't want to be away from his best friend as he watches the other Guardians leave.

"Don't you two stay up too long talking - you've got a long time coming to catch up." Sophie winks, looking at the rising sun through the window before leaving to find another room to catch some sleep in.

Jamie chuckles at his sister as he rests his head back against the wall. "I'm glad you're back, Jack," he says quietly. Then with a laugh, he adds, "Once you get better, we're gonna have to have the most epic snow day ever to make up for all the ones you've missed".

"You're right." Jack laughs. "I'll be around until you get sick of me." Jack smiles up at Jamie as he feels his eyes slowly begin to get heavier and heavier.

"I'm holding you to that, Bud," Jamie answers softly, shifting slightly to get more comfortable against the hard wall.

Chuckling, it doesn't take Jack long to slip into the most comfortable sleep of his life, laying there with Jamie.

Sophie quietly cracks the door open to the room. When she sees her brother still awake and Jack asleep on his lap, she smiles. "Need anything?" She mouths, trying not to wake the sleeping Winter Spirit as she steps in, carrying a blanket and pillow for her brother.

Looking down at Jack, he whispers, "I think we're good at the moment. He's just exhausted..." He glances back up at his sister, smiling warmly. "Thanks for helping him, Soph."

"It's nothing. I know what he means to you, Jamie - I could barely remember what he looked like, but you were the one who kept his memory alive. I couldn't stand to see you go through what you did the first time he left, when there was actually hope he'd come back," Sophie whispers, setting the blanket and pillow beside her brother.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you there to help me, so thank you," Jamie says, feeling incredibly lucking he was blessed with such an amazing baby sister.

Sophie smiles and winks at her brother. "Just remember that a few years from now, big brother, when I get on your nerves and start dating." She giggles softly and then leaves, closing the door behind herself.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Jamie groans, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice.

With a final glance at Jack, it's not long before the silence in the room and the long night finally catch up to him as his eyes slowly drift closed.

* * *

A/N: Ghost here once again. This chapter is much shorter than the others, since it was what I cut off the last one so it wouldn't be too long. Just in case any of you are wondering, no, this isn't slash whatsoever. Actually, there's no romance at all in it, so if you were hoping for some, sorry.

As always, reviews are loved! Let us know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

A couple days later Jack finds himself standing beneath a large Christmas tree, supported by Jamie. He's still weak, but most of his bruises have faded to a dingy yellow and the wounds have scabbed over. The only thing left that really bothers him is his broken ribs, which will take a while to heal.

"You guys sure know how to make a Christmas tree." Jack chuckles, admiring the tree. "North would be proud!"

Sophie walks into the living room, carrying a tray of hot chocolate and cookies for the two. "Good to see you up, Jack. Your ribs doing a little better?"

The boy nods to her, grateful for her help as he gingerly touches his side. "Good thing your mom's out, or you'd look crazy, talking to thin air," Jack chuckles, staring at the lights on the tree.

Jamie stands with chest puffed out in pride at his "work of art". With a wave of his hand, he laughs, "Oh, she's used to it by now. We've been talking to thin air for years now." With that, he reaches out and snatches a cookie off the tray, taking a large bite.

Sophie rolls her eyes at her brother, but smiles as she sets down the tray and offers each of the boys a mug. "Are you going to the North Pole tonight to celebrate with everyone when North gets back?" Sophie asks, taking a bite of her own cookie.

"Probably. He always throws the best parties." Jack chuckles, accepting the mug and taking a long drink with a wistful look on his face.

"He does, that," Jamie agrees taking a long swig of his own hot chocolate. "Few years ago, we went bowling with the elves. That was fun," he chuckles. "Though they didn't really enjoy it, being the pins and all."

Jack can't help but laugh as he imagines the spectacle. "Sounds like a game worthy of me." Jack winks at the siblings.

Sophie laughs at the memory. "And another time we all went sledding in Antarctica. That was an experience, though Bunny didn't like it." Sophie giggles, thinking of the frozen landscape of the southernmost continent.

"He couldn't even stand up!" Jamie laughs. "His paws were sliding all over the place on the ice, and he ended up getting turned into a giant snowball when he slipped and rolled down the hill." The memory of the snow-covered Easter Bunny has the young man nearly rolling.

Jack doubles over laughing, which hurts his ribs but he doesn't care. "I wish I had been there!" Jack exclaims. "I'd been trying to do something like that to him for years!"

Jamie wipes tears from his eyes as he finally gets his laughter under control enough to add, "It was definitely a prank worthy of you, Jack. All it took was a misplaced elf (resourceful little things, they are) and down he went. Took me forever to get back on the Nice List".

"A chip off the ole block," Jack beams, looking at his best friend. "I say we should head outside for a while - I'm tired of being inside."

"Sounds good to me," Jamie says, downing the rest of his hot chocolate and stuffing another cookie in his mouth.

"Just no snowball fights or stuff like that," Sophie reminds him. "You don't want to reinjure yourself when you're this close to getting better."

With a grin, Jack hobbles outside with help from Jamie.

Once outside Jack plops down onto a snow-covered bench, intentionally leaving the snow there, and lets out a frustrated sigh.

"I don't do the whole invalid thing well." Jack sighs, loving the feeling of the cold snow seeping through his clothing. "I'm not used to being taken care of, either. Even before, I never had anyone around to help me."

Jack stares into the white, clouded sky. Letting out a breath, the wind picks up slightly and a gentle, flaky snow begins to fall.

With a chuckle, Jamie wipes the snow off the bench before sitting down. "It shouldn't be too much longer before you're back to your old hyper active self," he says with a wink. "Then you owe me a snow day."

"It'll be the best snow day of your life, kiddo." Jack grins his crooked, mischievous grin. "Though I wish Soph hadn't hidden my staff - I'd have given you a little something to make the wait not so long. I can only do little stuff without it."

Jack picks up a handful and packs it into a ball. He looks at the little sphere in his hand with longing before dropping it down Jamie's back.

Any retort Jamie might have had is cut off as the frigid powder goes down his shirt. He lets out an admittedly unmanly shriek as his eyes widen and back arches at the cold. Jumping up, he pulls at his shirt, trying to knock the snow out. "Oh, now you're just asking for it."

Lounging on the bench, Jack looks at Jamie with the most innocent smile he can muster, complete with puppy dog eyes. "You wouldn't attack a poor, defenseless invalid without his staff, would you?"

Picking up a small mound of snow, Jamie rolls it in his hands, a dangerous sparkle in his eye. "I might consider it if said 'invalid without his staff' fights dirty".

"Who's fighting dirty?" Jack laughs. "I saw an opening, so I took it."

Rolling off of the bench, Jack grabs another handful of snow and packs it as he hides behind the bench. Peeking his head up just enough to see, he hurls the snowball at Jamie.

Leaping out of the way, Jamie launches his own snowball at Jack's head, then darts behind a tree in the yard to start making his ammo. "It's on now!"

With wide eyes, Jack ducks, the snow barely missing the top of his head. Seeing Jamie dart behind a tree, Jack uses the moment to create his own ammo.

"You can't beat the Spirit of Winter in a snowball fight, kiddo!" Jack calls out when he has a sufficient number of snowballs stacked.

"You wanna bet?" Jamie taunts, leaning around the tree just long enough to throw a couple snowballs at Jack. "I've been practicing over the years; I bet I could take you, easy!"

"Not much of a victory, though, if I'm hurt is it?" Jack laughs, returning fire with his own snowballs, each coming closer to Jamie than the last. "Besides, I'm out of practice!"

Jack tries to make a strategic change in position to get closer to Jamie, however smart that move may (or may not) be. He chucks snowballs at his friend the whole time he runs to a nearby tree.

"Hey, a victory is a victory! And I think it's a fair advantage, since you _can_ create your own snow."

Targeting the smaller boy as he darts across the lawn, Jamie throws his perfectly round snowball before leaning back against the tree to hide from any retaliation.

"Be glad I can't create more than a light dusting without my staff, our you'd be buried right about now!" Jack huffs, diving to his hiding spot after expertly dodging Jamie's snowballs.

From his new vantage point, he's much closer and throwing the snowballs is much easier for the injured Spirit, as his ribs had begun to bother him, especially after his dive into the snow.

Laughing as he throws another, Jamie retorts, "Lucky for me, then, that Soph's being a stick in the muuuuuh-Hey, Sophie". He freezes, mid swing, as he sees his sister a few meters away from him, eyes boring holes into his skull. "What're you doing out here?"

"I came to check on Jack. Why are you having a snowball fight, like I told you not to?" Sophie asks the boys, but stares at her brother with less than pleased green eyes.

"He started it!" Jack shouts from behind his tree, hiding his snowballs behind his back with a crooked smirk on his face.

"Jack, I know you better than that. And if you want your staff back, you're going to have to be a good boy and sit tight while you heal," Sophie says, acting years older than she is. Giving her brother a pointed look, she grabs Jack by the wrist and drags the protesting Winter Spirit back into the house, trailing his snowballs as they go.

With a defeated sigh, Jamie follows the pair back to the house, muttering, "You're goin' down next time," as he passes Jack to kick off his wet shoes.

"In your dream, kiddo!" Jack shoots back, much to Sophie's dismay.

"The both of you, enough! Or I'm going to have to separate you until Jack's better." Sophie grumbles, though she's smiling as she says those words.

"You'd do that to us?" Jack asks in mock horror.

"Don't test me, Frostbite. Jamie knows when I mean business." Sophie says, giving the two a wicked smirk of her own.

Leaning down to be level with his best friend, Jamie whispers, "If you thought Bunny was bad, you haven't seen anything until you've experienced _her_ wrath". He shivers, though he can't quite hide the smile from his terrified expression.

Jack laughs at Jamie's expression before turning to Sophie. "You've spent way too much time around the Easter Kangaroo, haven't you?" Jack chuckles before conceding to lay on the couch and just be still for a while.

Jamie laughs at that, adding as he goes to sit in a nearby chair, "She gets any more like him, she's gonna sprout long ears and start talking with a funny accent".

Figuring she won't win the argument with both Jack and her brother, Sophie merely rolls her eyes. "Don't forget, mom will be home soon so we'll have to move Jack back in to your room. Don't want her sitting on the Guardian of Fun while he's healing, do you?" Sophie giggles at the thought of their mother unknowingly sitting on Jack.

"No, thank you!" Jack exclaims, his nose wrinkled. "I like your mom, but I'd rather not be sat on. Or should I say through? Either way, it isn't pleasant."

Jamie snorts as he pictures his friend being sat on by his mother, spewing bits of the cookie he had just bitten into down the front of his sweater.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most people prefer eating food over wearing it?" Jack asks Jamie, looking at the boy with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"You're right, Jack, but Jamie's not normal. Mom once told me she dropped him on his head when he was a baby. She was joking, but I don't believe that." Sophie laughs from the doorway between the kitchen where she'd been grabbing Jack a drink and the living room.

With a half-hearted glare, Jamie looks at Jack as he wipes off his shirt, muttering, "Quiet, you". Then turning to his sister, he adds, "And you! We've been over this! I was _not_ dropped on my head as a child. You, on the other hand, well..." He gives her a smirk that clearly says he knows something she doesn't.

Jack snorts, an unbecoming sound, but otherwise remains silent as the two siblings bicker playfully.

Sophie crosses her arms and huffs, staring at her brother in a challenging way until she can't hold back her laughter.

Jamie laughs along with her at that. "You just can't stay mad at me, can you?" he teases.

"It wouldn't pay to, Jamie." Sophie laughs, turning and shaking her head.

"Very true," Jamie agrees, leaning back in his chair once again.

"I'm glad you two get along." Jack says. "So many siblings can't even stand to be in the same room, let alone joke around and help each other like you and Sophie." Jack watches Jamie from his position on the couch, a smile on his thin face.

Jamie smiles at that. "I think our age gap may have a bit to do with that, but we've been through a lot together over the years; it'd be a shame to let all that go to waste over some silly sibling rivalry".

Jack nods in understanding as he hears a car pulling into the driveway. "That's my cue to scooch. Your room, Jamie?" Jack asks, slowly pushing himself up from the couch with a little difficulty do to the renewed pain in his ribs after their snowball fight earlier.

"Yup," Jamie confirms. Standing as well, he asks, "You need help getting up there?"

"I'm fine." Jack says, grimacing. "This just isn't the way I pictured being around you again. Appearance-wise, you're older than me now, kiddo."

Chuckling, Jamie says, "Guess that makes you the 'kiddo,' now, huh?" He goes to his friend's side to walk with him as far as the stairs.

"I don't care if you're a hundred, Jamie. You'll always be 'kiddo' to me." Jack winks, heading up to Jamie's room on his own.

"Easy to forget you're an _old man_," Jamie laughs, ignoring the strange look his mother gives him as she steps through the door.

"Old Man _Winter_ to you boy," Jack shoots back, chuckling as he disappears into Jamie's bedroom.

"Don't mind Jamie, he's just nuts as usual." Sophie says, stifling a laugh as she passes by her mother.

Jamie gladly accepts the amused hug his mother offers him, laughing at his friend's reply. "I'm not nuts," he says, "I was just telling Soph she acts like an old man, sometimes". Shaking a fist, he yells in a bad Australian accent, "Stop throwin' that blasted snow and git back inside!"

Sophie can't help but crack up at her brother's horrible impersonation of Bunny. "Your accent needs a little work." Sophie giggles, glancing up the stairs at Jack, who's doubled over laughing in the doorway to Jamie's room.

"Well excuse me for not hanging out with someone with a proper accent all the time," Jamie teases, sticking his tongue out and letting go of his mother to grab another cookie.

"I'm going to start calling you Cookie Monster if you keep eating those." Sophie smirks, grabbing a cookie for herself. "Besides, we have to leave some for Santa tonight." Sophie's comment is completely innocent, is if she is just a little girl who believes in Santa. Never mind the smile she's hiding behind her cookie directed at her brother.

"Please, that man gets plenty of cookies already from his elves," Jamie scoffs, completely serious. He ignores his mother's disapproving glare at encouraging Sophie's belief, having been in that argument many times already.

"But his elves eat most of the cookies, too. Besides, what about the yetis?" Sophie asks, still feigning innocence. "They like cookies, too."

Finishing off the last of his cookie, Jamie replies matter-of-factly, "Yeah, but the yetis are too busy making the toys to actually gorge themselves on sweets".

Mary sighs as she runs her hand through her hair, giving her son an exasperated look. "This has gotta stop already. I know it's Christmas, but you two are old enough to know that Santa, the Easter Bunny, all that's not real. _Esp__ecially_ you, Jamie. You're twenty-years-old, for crying out loud!"

"Jack Frost is resting up in my room," Jamie deadpans.

Sophie can't help it when she snorts, spraying cookie crumbs. "He's really cool." Sophie smiles, watching their mother's disbelieving face. "Even though he's a baby since he's got two broken ribs."

"Two broken..." Mary starts, disbelievingly. "Do you even hear yourselves?"

"Of course we do," Jamie answers. Then turning to Sophie, he adds, "I'm telling him you called him a baby."

"Are you kidding? I'd rather not become a human Popsicle!" Sophie laughs. "Want me to get Jack? I'm sure he's not sleeping or anything," Sophie asks, turning to her mother. "Though just remember - you have to believe in him to see him."

"Yes! Go get him! I wanna see you as a Sophiecicle," Jamie laughs.

Sophie rolls her eyes at her brother as she passes him, bouncing up the stairs.

"Of course that's how it works," Mary mutters, briefly wondering where she went wrong with her kids. Not that either are _bad_; quite the opposite. Both Jamie and Sophie are the nicest people she had ever met, willing to do anything to help others. They just had a tendency to be, well...odd when it came to believing unconditionally that legends were real, no matter how old they got and how many times she insisted it was all fantasy.

Jack's sprawled out on Jamie's bed, staring at the ceiling out of boredom when he hears a soft knock on the door. He finds Sophie standing at the door, wearing an excited smile.

"C'mon, we want you to meet our mom. She still doesn't believe us after all these years." Sophie grins, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

It only takes a moment for Jack to reappear in the living room, dressed in some of Jamie's clothing since his were ruined after his time with Pitch. Jamie's clothing hangs on him, making him look even younger than his 17-year-old appearance.

Jamie sits on the edge of his seat excitedly, looking back and forth between his mother and his best friend. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Mary asks, slightly irritated. "There's no one there."

Jack steps close to the woman and waves his hand in front of her face. When she doesn't react, his face falls for a moment before he steps back.

Humming in thought, Jamie suggests with a smirk, "You said yourself you're Old Man _Winter_, how about doing something Wintery, Old Man?"

"Not one of the cooler names you people have given me." Jack huffs, unable to refute the old part of Jamie's statement. "I much prefer Jokul Frosti."

Stepping over to one of the nearby windows, Jack brushes a light fingertip over the glass, creating an ornate feathery pattern of frost on the pane. After the window is completely coated in ice, Jack draws an image of a horse. Blowing on the design, the frosty horse comes to life, leaping and bucking through the air, shaking its frozen mane as it gallops closer to Jamie's mother.

A yelp escapes the woman as the horse nears her. Wide eyed, she ducks behind her son, clutching his arm tightly. "Wha-what is that? How is it doing that?"

Chuckling, Jamie detaches her fingers from his sleeve and wraps his arm around her shoulders. "Close your eyes," he orders softly. Once she complies, he continues. "Now you know something, some_one_, is there to have made that happen; things don't just happen for no reason, right?" A hesitant nod. "And you trust Sophie and I to tell you the truth?" Another nod, more confident this time. "Alright, mom, I want you to open your eyes and _believe_ that that someone is real."

Slowly, Mary opens her clenched eyes. Standing in front of her, where moments before was nothing but open air, is a small boy, no older than mid to late teens in clothes much too large for him. He looks incredibly malnourished, nothing but skin and bones, and his hair is overgrown and the color of dirtied snow. While his features overall carry a haunted look, there's a spark of mischief in his eyes, not unlike the one often found in her son's.

Beaming as his mother obviously sees the boy, Jamie says, "Mom, I'd like you to meet the Spirit of Winter, the Guardian of Fun, and my best friend, Jack Frost".

Feeling it's appropriate, Jack bows to Jamie's mother. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Bennett." Jack smiles, the horse trots to his side. "As Jamie mentioned, I'm Jack Frost. But you may also know me as Old Man Winter, Jokul Frosti or Father Frost."

Utterly speechless, Mary can only stare at the strange boy in front of her.

"Hold on a minute," Jamie says, oblivious to his mother's dilemma. "_Father_ Frost? You not telling us something?"

"Ask the Russians. I don't come up with my names," Jack replies, looking at his friend with a quirked eyebrow.

Raising an eyebrow of his own, Jamie asks, "So I should ask North, then?"

Mary glances between the two boys, completely bewildered at how easily Jamie is able to carry on a conversation with a...a spirit.

"Sure, but I'm not sure he knows either." Jack shrugs, chuckling.

Sophie sits on the couch, watching her mother with a satisfied expression. "Pretty cool, huh? He's kinda like our personal Guardian."

"Hey, he's _my_ Guardian," Jamie says possessively, face split in a brilliant smile. "You have the kangaroo."

"...Kangaroo?" Mary asks quietly, wondering just _what_ kind of company her children have been keeping over the years without her knowing.

Jack can't help but laugh at the two arguing over him.

"Bunny! Bunnymund is the Easter Bunny!" Sophie exclaims, exasperated.

"He hops like a kangaroo, looks like a kangaroo, sounds like a kangaroo," Jamie retorts, counting off on his fingers. "If the clown shoe fits, he might as well wear it."

"You're just jealous because you don't get to hang out with an awesome six foot tall Australian rabbit." Sophie huffs, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

"Why would I be jealous?" Jamie retorts, looking fondly at his friend. "Jack's back; I don't _need_ to hang out with Bunny.

"There's more of you?" Mary asks in a small voice.

"There's six of us, ma'am." Jack says politely, realizing it must be hard for the woman to comprehend that much of what she knows is wrong. "There's North, or Santa as most of you call him around here, and Sandman, Tooth, Bunny, and even the Man in the Moon, though most of us call him MiM."

"So they're all...real?" Mary asks, feeling incredibly confused.

"As real as I am." Jack nods, smiling. "If you'd like, you could come to the Christmas party tonight at Santoff Clausen. All of the Guardians are going to be there. Plus all the yetis North employs to make his toys, and the elves though I'm really not sure why he keeps them around." Jack returns Jamie's smile that doesn't quite reach his dark eyes.

"That's a great idea!" Jamie agrees. Then turning to his mother, he says, "Just don't forget that you won't be able to see them if you don't believe they're real either".

Giving her son a wry smile, she replies, "Do I really have a choice in believing in them at this point?"

"You always have a choice." Jack says, giving the woman a wry smile. "After all, no one believed in me until just a few years ago."

"That would be me," Jamie adds, beaming proudly.

"And how long did you go without being believed in?" Mary asks, remembering very old stories of Jack Frost, but not recalling anyone who actually believed they were true.

"Over three centuries. I was invisible to everyone but the Guardians for over three hundred years until I managed to get your son to believe in me after some... trouble... with the Boogeyman." Jack says, watching the little ice horse walk around instead of meeting either Jamie's or his mother's eyes.

Huffing, Jamie mutters, "'Trouble' is an understatement".

Looking at the boy with a pitying look only a mother can give, Mary asks, "Three hundred years? All alone?" Then registering what her son said, she adds, "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

Realizing he's said too much, Jack groans. "We had a bit of a fight with the Boogeyman. It was around that time I convinced Jamie to believe in me when all other children had lost their ability to believe. It was ten years ago." Jack runs a hand through his hair, suddenly uncomfortable. "Jamie's a good kid, ma'am," Jack says, shifting his weight. "We needed him."

"He is good," Mary sighs. "If a little impulsive. I'm honestly not surprised he'd run out without a second thought to help others."

Jack smiles, glad Jamie's mother isn't too upset. "It's thanks to your son that you can still celebrate Christmas and Easter, loose a tooth and find a coin under your pillow, and go to sleep at night and have good dreams. I realize the winters haven't been good lately, but I promise they'll get better."

Giving his friend a sad smile and forgoing any self-praise at Jack's kind words, Jamie says instead, "We know they will, Bud".

Mary looks at her son, a bit shocked he had done so much ten years ago, but grateful all the same that he's grown up to be such a kind man because of it.

Jack gives his friend a fond smile as he ruffles his hair, messing up any semblance of a style Jamie may have had his hair in.

"If you guys are done, I'd like to get to Santoff Claussen." Sophie says, popping her head in the doorway. She had disappeared to change into a festive red sweater and pulled her hair back into a low ponytail.

"'Santoff Claussen?" Mary asks, confused.

Trying to fix his hair by running his fingers through the tangled brown locks, Jamie clarifies. "Santa's Workshop, the North Pole, take your pick."

"Wait a minute," the woman commands, bewildered. "We're spending Christmas...at the North Pole?"

"No one throws a better Christmas party than the big man himself." Jack grins, a mischievous sparkle to his eyes. "It's been a while since I've been back there."

"Yeah, mom. And you can meet North, and Sandy, and Tooth. And Bunnymund!" Sophie grins, clearly so excited by the fact she's bouncing on the balls of her feet. "And he's not a kangaroo!" Sophie cuts off her brother before he can call Bunny a kangaroo as she saw his mouth open out of the corner of her eye.

Jamie laughs as he holds up his hands in surrender, letting her have this one.

"So...how are we getting to this...party with Santa?" Mary asks.

"Last time I was there North left this with me." Jack holds up a swirling, sparkling snow globe he'd just pulled from his hoodie pocket. "If we're ready, we can go now."

Sophie nods, stepping further into the room already wearing her boots and carrying her coat.

Jamie walks over and grabs his own coat along with his mother's. Returning, he hands it to her as he puts his own on, saying, "It's been a while since I've been through a portal without the sleigh".

"Portal?" Mary asks as she puts her coat on. "That thing is a portal?"

Jack grins as Sophie hands him his staff, the wood feeling soft and cool to his touch.

Still grinning, he whispers "Santoff Claussen" to the globe, and a miniature version of North's home appears in the snow globe. Jack lets it roll around in his hand for a moment before tossing it to the ground and smashing it, a bright light forming from it as a portal forms in front of them in the middle of the Bennett's living room.

"We need to get through quickly," Jack says, directing Jamie's mother through the portal first.

With a big, goofy grin on his face, Jamie grabs Sophie's hand and jumps in after them.

* * *

Mary doesn't know what to expect when she finally manages to open her clenched eyes to get her first look at Santa's Workshop. What she sees takes her breath away: giant furry...things lounge around, clearly taking a much needed break after the Christmas rush, while tiny little pointy-headed people scurry about, seemly getting in the way more than helping anything.

The building she finds herself standing in his positively stunning as well. The entire place buzzes with color and activity; toys still darting around, despite the inactivity of the occupants in the room. In a word, the whole place is _w__onderful_. No wonder her kids enjoy coming here so much.

"Do you like it?" Jack asks, jumping effortlessly through the portal and landing lightly beside her. He's grinning like a kid in a candy shop as he looks around the room for the first time in a while.

There's still remnants of the damage he and Pitch had caused, but not much in this particular room. Feeling at home, Jack strides over to one of the yetis and greets him, freezing one of the elves with his staff as he goes.

"It's incredible," Mary breathes, eyes wide.

Coming through the portal behind them, Jamie laughs as he sees the typical frozen elf. "You know, Jack, one of these days those little guys are gonna gang up on you for that."

Jack simply laughs, looking down at the little frozen creature. "Think they have enough brain-power for that?" He laughs, lightly tapping the frozen elf with the end of his staff.

"I don't think so, but you never know," Jamie laughs.

Sophie follows behind the others, glancing at the elf Jack had frozen before wandering off to find Bunny.

"Is North back yet?" Jack asks one of the nearby yetis, which grunts in response, shaking it's head. "North is still out delivering." Jack announces, turning back to his friends, noticing Sophie had taken off on her own.

Noticing her daughter's absence as well, Mary asks, "Where's Sophie?"

"Probably looking for the kangaroo." Jack answers absently, enjoying having his staff again by freezing random objects around him.

One of the yetis gets pissed at him, however, when he freezes its hand to a paintbrush. It tries frantically to get the paintbrush off, but can't.

Jamie doubles over laughing as he watches the poor yeti's struggle, too used to this sort of thing happening to feel bad for it.

Mary gives her son a disapproving glare, feeling bad for the creature.

The less-than-thrilled yeti shakes his hand furiously, hoping the piece of wood will fly away. Getting bored, Jack releases the brush just as the yeti pulls it toward his face, causing him to basically punch himself in the face.

Jamie's laughter starts up anew at that, making him snort painfully. "Ow..."

Raising an eyebrow questioningly, Mary says, "I assume this is a common occurrence with you?"

"I'm the Guardian of Fun." Jack shrugs, grinning.

Glancing from Jack to her son, something clicks in Mary's mind. "So that's where you got your "A life's not worth living if you can't have fun," mentality?"

"Yup!" Jamie beams, finally getting control of his laughter.

Jack winks at Jamie, feeling truly alive again for the first time in a decade as he traipses around the workshop, wreaking havoc here and there, but nothing that damages anything or anyone.

A loud, booming voice interrupts Jamie before he can say anything. With a wide smile, he grabs his mother's hand, leading her to the main room of Santoff Claussen.

Mary's first glimpse of North is completely not what she was expecting the man to look like. Her visions of an elderly, jolly, man with a bulging belly and rosy cheeks are dashed instantly as she lays eyes on the tall, buff, slightly scruffy man with tattoos and swords.

"Is that really...Santa?"

"Nicholas ." North introduces himself, bowing to the woman. "You must be young Jamie's mother."

"I am. Mary Bennett," she replies with a nod. As sort of an afterthought, she says, "You're...not what I was expecting...at all. No offense!"

"Do not worry. I get that a lot." North chuckles his big, booming chuckle. "Each culture has their own ideas as to who I am. They stop believing, so they cannot see what I truly look like."

"That and you sneak into their house in the middle of the night, North. Even if they believed, most wouldn't see you anyways." Jack laughs, holding a snowball he'd just created.

"I see," Mary says. "I never thought about it that way. Guess it makes sense."

Having arrived just a few moments ago, Bunny bounds into the room, a very content Sophie on his shoulders. He eyes the snowball in Jack's hands warily, promising pain if the boy tries to throw it at him. Scanning the rest of the room, he spots the unfamiliar woman standing with Jamie and North.

"Who's the sheila?"

"That's our mom." Sophie grins, glad to be with her best friend.

Jack grins at Bunny's glare, only resisting the urge to throw the snowball because of Sophie's position on top of the rabbit.

North gives Mary a gentle smile, hoping she won't take the sight of the giant rabbit carrying her daughter too badly.

Mary is shocked, to say the least, at the large animal carrying her daughter, but thanks to earlier descriptions of the Easter Bunny, she recovers quickly. "You're Bunnymund, I take it?"

Bunny pads over on his large feet and holds out a paw to shake the woman's hand. "That's right," he confirms. "It's a pleasure."

As Tooth arrives in Santoff Claussen, Baby Tooth darts off ahead of her mother, latching onto the side of Jack's face with excited chirps.

Jack chuckles when he feels the little fairy attach herself to his face. "It's been a while, Baby Tooth. How have you been?" He catches the little fairy and holds her gently in his hands so he can see her.

Baby Tooth shrieks excitedly in Jack's hold, waving her hands animatedly as she tells her story.

Jack listens to the little fairy, once in a while adding something like a shocked "Oh, really?" or a "You don't say".

Baby Tooth beams as she finishes, tiny chest puffed out in pride at her accomplishment.

Jack can't help but laugh at the little fairy, and strokes the top of her head with his finger. "I'm glad to see you're doing well."

The little fairy flies up to sit on Jack's shoulder, nuzzling his cheek with her feathery head.

Toothiana flutters into the room, eyes widening as she lays eyes on Mary. "An adult?" She asks, confused. Then, "An adult! Oh, I never thought I'd see the day an adult believed! Well, there's Jamie, but he's sort of an exception, him being our best believer and all, and- Oh! I'm rambling, aren't I? I'm the Tooth Fairy. You can call me Tooth".

Bunny rolls his eyes at the fairy as she gasps for air.

Last but not least Sandy toddles in, yawning and stretching after yet another wonderful nap. When he spots the woman, he chimes to her in greeting, a giant golden hand waving to her above his head.

"Told you they were real, mom." Sophie says, the mischievous smile on her face is one to rival Jack's.

"And you thought we were crazy," Jamie adds to his sister's comment.

After waving in return to the Sandman and giving an awkward smile at the Tooth Fairy, Mary turns to her kids. "Alright, I'll admit it. You were right."

"Sometimes it just doesn't pay to grow up. When being an adult means losing out on experiences like the ones we've had with these guys, I'd rather stay a child forever. Just call me Peter Pan," Sophie giggles.

"Peter speaks the truth," Jamie agrees, nodding.

Sophie sticks her tongue out at her brother, but continues grinning. "At least my best friend isn't Frostbite," Sophie smirks.

"Better Frostbite than the Easter Kangaroo," Jamie retorts, a smirk of his own on his face.

Jack turns to look at the arguing siblings. "And just what's wrong with me, Sophie dearest?" Jack asks, brandishing a new snowball and a smirk.

Sophie eyes the snowball, but doesn't let up. "You're so _cold,_" Sophie says. "At least Bunny's warm and fuzzy."

"That's mah girl," Bunny says, pride clear in his voice.

"What's so fun about 'warm and fuzzy'?" Jamie asks. "You can do so much more in the cold!"

As the four continue arguing, Mary leans over to North, asking, "Does this happen often?"

Chuckling, North nods. "We all get into it from time to time," he says. "Only Sandy and Tooth usually stay out of it. The past few years without Jack have been hard, though."

Jack tosses the snowball, which hits Bunny right on the face. He rocks back onto his heels and laughs, enjoying the sight of Bunny being covered in the powdery snow. One of the yetis grumble in protest at the water dripping on the floor.

"Oh, now yer dead, Frostbite," Bunny growls, placing Sophie gently on the floor before taking off after the Winter Spirit.

Jamie laughs as he watches the pair, calling out encouragement for his Guardian of choice.

"What do you mean?" Mary asks, keeping her voice down so as not to be overheard by the rambunctious group across the room.

"I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but Jack made some bad choices a few years back. He paid dearly for it, but he's returned to us now." North says, watching the young spirit dart through his workshop, just glad he's already delivered everything for this year.

While Jack has regained most of his mischievous spirit, he can still see the way the boy treats Jamie, unsure, as if he's afraid his first believer will suddenly come to hate him for leaving him.

"Get 'im Bunny!" Sophie cheers, laughing as well.

Jack races around the room, narrowly avoiding tables and chairs as he runs. Laughing, his broken ribs and bruised body is momentarily forgotten as he looses himself in the joy of the moment.

Mary watches the boy, her heart going out to him as his haunted appearance begins to make more sense.

Bunny runs on all fours after Jack, bouncing off of walls and furniture alike, enjoying it despite his angry features.

It only takes one elf, in the wrong place at the wrong time, to send Jack tumbling to the floor in a tangle of long limbs and chairs. He winces, having hit pretty hard with his mending ribs, so he simply lays on the floor, panting and waiting for Bunny to catch up to him as he holds his side. The smile on his face is evident as he lays curled up on his good side.

Bunny skids to a stop next to the boy, paws slipping slightly on the slick floor. He pants as he smirks at him, holding a hand out to help him up. "You awright, mate?"

"As good as I'm going to be for a while." Jack winces as Bunny helps him up, but he's happy none the less. "It's been way too long since I've had this much fun. And I'm beginning to see why Sophie took my staff from me."

"She's a smart one," Bunny says fondly, glancing over at Sophie.

"If she doesn't become a doctor, then the world is going to miss out." Jack smiles, watching the girl fondly. "Lately, I've been wondering how those two could even possibly be related to me. Jamie and Sophie are both brilliant and kind, but I'm... I'm anything but brilliant, and I only screw things up." Jack says softly, more to himself than Bunny.

Sophie watches Jack with concerned eyes. "You didn't re-injure yourself, did you?" She asks, frowning.

Placing a paw on the boy's shoulder, Bunny says, "Give yerself some credit. Everyone makes mistakes, Frostbite". It takes a moment for Jack's words to sink in. "Wait a minute, what d'ya mean 'related to you'?"

Catching the Pooka's words, Jamie glances between the two, confused. "Wait, what?"

Realizing his mistake, Jack groans - this isn't how he'd planned on telling them what he'd found out. "During my, uh, absence, I found out we are related, Jamie." Jack says, his eyes darting to their mother for a second before settling on the ground. "It's part of why I made the choices I did. I thought the Guardians knew, but didn't tell me. I was furious." Jack's words spill from his mouth in a rush. "You aren't just my best friend, Jamie." Jack says softly. "You're also my nephew."

Sophie stares at Jack, dumbfounded.

North shifts uncomfortably, having known all along but never told the boy or the other Guardians.

"This is the first I've heard of it," Tooth says thoughtfully from her position next to Sandy.

"Same 'ere."

Jamie stares at Jack as well, almost seeing the boy in a new light.

Thinking back on her family's proud heritage, taught to her by her late husband's work in genealogy, Mary asks confused, "How are you related to us?"

"It probably doesn't mean much to you, but my name when I was still human was Jackson Overland." Jack says. Everyone's admissions of not knowing about his relation to Jamie and his family only make Jack feel worse.

"Jackson Overland..." Mary muses, wracking her brain to think of why that name sounds familiar. "Overland...There was a Jocelyn Overland who married into our family...but that was centuries ago."

"Jocelyn was my sister. I'm over 300 years old." Jack says, finally looking up to meet Mary's eyes. "I saved my sister from drowning when she was little. I wasn't so lucky."

Mary stares at the boy with wide eyes. "You mean...you died to become like this?" Glancing between the others, she asks, "All of you?"

North nods, watching Jack.

"Honestly, Jamie could have doubled as my little brother, when I was human." Jack says, his throat constricted. "He looks so much like my little sister."

Jamie steps up to his friend- _uncle_- placing an arm around his thin shoulders. Looking at the rest of his family, he says, "We're gonna have to start inviting Jack to our family reunions".

Jack can't help laugh at Jamie's suggestion. "I think you'd have a hard enough time convincing them to believe in Jack Frost, never mind trying to get them to believe he's also your 300 year old uncle who looks like he's only 17." Jack chuckles, returning the hug.

"If I picture you with dark hair and eyes, I can see the resemblance." Sophie says, staring at the two. "You can really see it now, since you appear to be close to the same age right now." Sophie continues to stare, hardly able to believe the Spirit of Winter and Guardian of Fun is actually her uncle.

"I dunno, we got mom to believe," Jamie shrugs. Then at Sophie, he raises an eyebrow teasingly. "I hope you saying we look alike is a good thing."

"Well, I used to think you look like a troll, but that would insult Jack, so yeah. I guess you could say it's a good thing." Sophie laughs.

Jack snorts when Sophie calls her brother a troll. "True." Jack agrees with Jamie, still smiling.

"A troll? Jamie asks, feigning hurt. "At least I didn't always look like someone attacked my head with a weed eater."

Mary rolls her eyes at her kids, far too used to their banter to feel the need to get on to them.

Sophie glares at her brother, but the effect is ruined by her smile. "Whatever, Jamie."

Throwing his hands up in the air in the following silence, North exclaims, "Seeing as we came for Christmas party, let's have Christmas party!"

* * *

A/N: Revelations, Christmas and Parties, oh my! I just love the dynamics between Jack and Jamie – they are too cute! And one of my favorite parts of the RP/story comes up in the next chapter I think. :3

Rate & Review!

AAA


	7. Chapter 7

_Previously: __"Seeing as we came for Christmas party, let's have Christmas party!"_

* * *

Chapter Seven

With that said, a number of yetis enter the room carrying trays of food, carefully picking their way around the elves who are running around everywhere. North snaps his fingers, and a couple of the elves pull out trumpets and begin playing some random music, which is only in tune half the time.

Watching the little creatures scurrying around, Mary raises an eyebrow. "You know, I always thought elves were more...I dunno, useful?"

Laughing, Jamie replies, "We all did".

"Little buggahs are only good for gettin' underfoot," Bunny growls as he accidentally steps on one.

"I still don't know why you keep them around, North," Jack says, picking one up by it's hat.

"Comedic relief?" North shrugs, smiling. "They are annoying, but always are entertaining."

"I'll take functional over entertainin' any day, mate," Bunny replies, scraping the elf off his foot. He watches with a slightly curled lip as the little thing staggers to its feet, crashing into one of its fellow elves playing a trumpet, sending them both to the ground again.

Jack flicks the bell on top of the elf's head, listening to it ring, before he sets it back down.

"At is what yetis are for!" North exclaims, chuckling. "Besides, they get too rowdy, yetis lock them out of workshop."

Snagging a cup of eggnog off of a passing elf's tray, Bunny decides to let the matter drop, having had this argument many times over the centuries. Though he does mutter, "eggs are bettah," into his mug before taking a big gulp.

North chuckles, but doesn't respond to Bunny.

Jack snags two cups and hands one to Jamie. Unknown to the boys, the eggnog is spiked with a small amount of alcohol, just the way North likes it.

Nodding a thanks as he takes the glass, Jamie clinks his mug against Jack's before taking a large swig. He crinkles his nose at the slight burning in the back of his throat, but ignores it as it slowly spreads to warm the rest of him. Deciding he doesn't mind the feeling, he takes another gulp, and another, until the drink is all gone.

Jack laughs as he watches Jamie down the drink before having some of his own. He's surprised at the burn, but finishes the drink nonetheless.

When a yeti passes by again, he makes sure to replace his and Jamie's empty mugs with full ones.

Mary takes a cup of her own and, after a sip, recognizes the taste of spiked eggnog. She's a bit surprised that _Santa_ of all people would being drinking alcohol, but considering his job and the creatures he works with, she can't really blame him.

Glancing at her son and his friend, she deems them both a lost cause as they guzzle the liquid, but she manages to stop her daughter before she can take a drink, quickly snatching the mug out of her hands with an, "Uh-uh, not for you".

Sophie pouts when her drink is taken, but can soon see why as Jack's and her brother's cheeks are beginning to flush and the room is certainly not hot.

North takes a mug and grins before knocking it back like a shot. "My own eggnog," North says, giving Mary a conspiratorial wink. "Enjoy."

Jamie downs the second glass, not even realizing that the more he drinks, the heavier he leans on the smaller boy.

Mary laughs at that, taking a drink of her own eggnog. "And have you ever given Jack any of this special blend? If not, my son's not going to be the only miserable one in the morning."

"This is gonna be good," Bunny laughs.

Tooth chuckles as she takes a sip, tutting "no" to her daughter as she spots her trying to steal a sip from Jack's mug.

"No, but I figure boys are old enough now to try it," North laughs, watching the two lean on each other. As hard as Jamie's leaning on Jack, though, it seems like it won't be long until they'll both be on the floor.

As Jack finishes his mug, he finds himself feeling rather wobbly and giddy. Suddenly, the elves' music doesn't sound nearly as bad, and he grabs Jamie to start dancing.

Jamie giggles, a decidedly unmanly sound, as his friend pulls him to dance along with the random tooting of the elves' trumpets. Glass still in hand, he stumbles around after Jack, still being pulled along in his grasp, tripping over himself more than anything. He enjoys himself immensely.

Bunny is on his back by this point, rolling on the floor and back legs kicking in the air as he laughs so hard, he nearly cracks a rib. "What did I tell ya?"

Mary puts a hand to her forehead, holding back a chuckle. She's too amused to feel sorry for her son. "What'd you put in this stuff anyway?"

"Vodka," North replies to Mary. "Is good stuff."

Jack doesn't have a care in the world as he leads his best friend, feeling as though he's the best dancer in the world, though in reality not much better than Jamie at the moment. The alcohol makes his mind slow and fuzzy, but he enjoys it immensely.

Sophie's laughing just as hard as Bunny as she watches the two boys "dance" around the room to poorly played music.

"I just had a thought." She says, sitting up suddenly. "I thought they could play better than that. Did the elves get into the eggnog, too?"

With a particularly hard tug on his sleeve, the floor seems to lurch underneath Jamie's feet, sending him stumbling a few steps before he crashes into Jack. Feeling gravity take hold, he grabs onto the boy for dear life, letting go of his cup in the process. They land on the floor in an ungraceful lump of limbs.

Bunny gasps for air, laughing so hard he can barely breath. He can feel a buzz of his own in the back of his mind, which only makes the whole situation even more hilarious.

Tooth chuckles as she watches the others, deciding not to drink much so she'll still be able to work once she gets back to her palace. "They normally are better than this, yes," Tooth answers Sophie. "I don't think it'd be the first time they snuck some."

Watching the pair, Mary chuckles. "It may be a bit _too_ good of stuff for those two."

With a decidedly unmanly giggle of his own, Jack's world comes back into focus after his dizzying fall as he notices Jamie laying on top of him.

"How did we get down here?" Jack asks, still giggling as he looks around at everyone else's feet. Suddenly, there's an elf in his face trying to stuff a cookie in his mouth, and another trying to do the same to Jamie.

Sophie's back to rolling on the floor again at the sight of Jack and her brother laying on the ground and the two elves trying to force-feed them.

Nearly choking on the cookie, Jamie swats at the elf as if it's an annoying fly buzzing around his head, slapping Jack repeatedly- though he's too drunk to have any force behind it- in the face. "Gerroff!" He slurs. "I can...I can ffffffeed mahself."

Jack was happily munching on his cookie until Jamie started hitting him in the face. At one point, one of Jamie's fingers gets too close to Jack's mouth, so he bites it. He doesn't bite hard enough to break skin, but hard enough that Jamie knows it.

Jamie scrunches his face up in confusion as he feels an unfamiliar pressure on his finger. Glancing down, he sees Jack biting him. He brings his face close to the other boy's, trying to focus on him. "What 'er you doin', Jack? Don' bite me."

Pouting, Jack leans up. His expression fades into a grin as he bites Jamie's nose, and begins giggling hysterically. "Jack Frost nippin' at yer nose!" Jack shouts through his giggles, not caring how close Jamie is to him.

Jamie yelps as his nose is bitten, throwing his head forward instead of pulling backwards, knocking their foreheads together. He groans as he rolls off of Jack, onto his side next to him, eventually breaking out in a fit of giggles.

Chuckling, Mary suggests, "We should probably help them before they give each other a concussion".

Rubbing his own forehead, Jack continues to giggle for a moment before he gets up on wobbly legs.

Still giggling a little, he grabs a mug and takes a big drink of it before running over to Bunny and nipping his nose as well. With his laughter renewed, he darts over to Sophie, who tries to avoid his advances unsuccessfully before Jack bites hers as well.

"Jack Frost nippin' at yer nose!" He exclaims again, laughing so hard he falls back on his butt and just lays there on the floor, still laughing.

Jamie pushes himself into a sitting position, snagging another mug out of a protesting elf's hands before it can take a drink. He laughs as he watches Jack dance around, managing to spill eggnog down the front of him as he snorts while trying gulp it down.

Rubbing his nose, Bunny grumbles, "Awright, no more alcohol for Frostbite". He stands up and walks past Jamie, deeming him harmless for the time being, and snatches the mug out of the Winter Spirit's hand.

It only takes a couple minutes for Jack to pass out, snoring softly as he lay sprawled out in the middle of North's workshop.

"Maybe too much vodka for Jack." North chuckles, stepping over elves to get to the sleeping boy. Carefully, he picks up first the sleeping drunk, then Jamie and slings both boys over his shoulder.

"You shall stay here tonight," North declares. "I will put these two in room for now."

Jamie complains loudly as he's thrown over the large man's shoulder, holding out a hand to his fallen mug. He watches as an elf darts over and snatches it up, tears forming in his eyes as he bellows, "That was miiiiiine!"

Bunny shakes his head as they go, a smile on his face. "I remember my first try at North's eggnog...well, I remember what I've been told happened anyways. Nevah a pretty sight."

"Thanks for the warning," Mary laughs, deciding to call it quits with hers. "It'll be bad enough dealing with those two in the morning without suffering through a hangover myself."

Recalling everything she's ever heard about hangovers, Sophie giggles. "They aren't going to be having much fun in the morning," Sophie says, a wicked grin on her face.

Bunny shares a completely diabolical smirk with Sophie. "I've taught you well, Ankle Bitah."

"Don't go too hard on them," Tooth interjects. "They didn't know what was in it."

"I agree," Mary says, pointedly looking at her daughter. "You can tease them a bit, make them never want to get drunk again, but don't take things too far."

At being given the go ahead to at least torture the boys a little, Sophie shares a victorious smirk with Bunny.

* * *

North drops both boys unceremoniously onto a bed in a nearby room. "You have to share, or there's not enough room for everyone here," North says, handing the crying Jamie a glass of water and ordering him to drink.

Jamie protests at first until a stern glare from North has him gulping the liquid down, wide, teary eyes looking up at the man pathetically over the rim of the glass.

North's face softens when he notices Jamie's expression. When the boy finishes his water he takes the glass from him before throwing a blanket over the two boys.

"Now, be good boy and sleep. Morning will come too soon as it is." North smiles, ruffling Jamie's hair before he leaves the room, turning out the light and closing the door behind himself, returning to show Mary to a room where she can spend the night.

Feeling his eyelids grow heavy, Jamie snuggles into the covers, muttering, "Night, Santa," just like he used to years ago on Christmas after staying up most of the night to greet the man as he brought presents.

With that, his eyes shut and he finally passes out, the alcohol giving him a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Bunny picks Sophie up off the floor and places her on his shoulders once more, grinning up at her. "So, what d'ya have in mind for our lil' drunkards?"

Glancing at the clock, Tooth says, "Well, I hate to go, but the girls and I have work to do. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mary". Scooping up Baby Tooth, who had fallen asleep in Sandy's hair a while ago, she bids them all farewell and heads back to her palace.

"I don't know. I was thinking something with lots of loud noises would be good," Sophie answers. Her wicked grin has returned with a vengeance.

"We got plenty ta pick from, then." Bunny's evil smirk can rival Pitch's as he walks of to take the girl to her room.

Mary sighs at her hopeless children. She heads over to North when he summons her, eyes staring around in wonder as he leads her through the halls.

"As much as Jack likes to torture the elves, we could probably even get the elves in on it," Sophie giggles.

"Ooh, I like the way you think," Bunny laughs. "Maybe some yetis as well, yeah?"

Sophie grins as she dives onto her bed. "Of course! He's always playing pranks, so now he can get a taste of his own medicine!"

Pulling the blankets up to Sophie's chin as she settles in her bed, Bunny leans down and kisses her forehead, his whiskers tickling her as usual.

"G'Night, Ankle Bitah."

"Night, Bunny." Sophie yawns, suddenly very tired in the warm, comfy bed.

"You are only one of three that has ever visited my home aside from other Guardians," North says, watching Mary. "Your children were first. They are good children."

Looking up at the large man, Mary thanks him for his kind words. "I also wanted to thank you all for looking out for them over the years. I always worried about them because neither seemed to have many friends as they got older, but I can see now they're doing just fine in the friend department. You've all helped them grow up into fine people, so, thank you."

"It is our pleasure. They have helped us in many ways, too. We had all lost touch with what it was to actually be with children, not just protect them," North says, stopping in front of a room near both Sophie's and Jamie's. "'ere you go. I'm sure you are tired from long day. Tomorrow we will exchange gifts, after things are quieter."

Mary chuckles as she walks to the doorway, faintly hearing the soft snores coming from the two boys next door, and the giggles coming from the other one. "I don't know how much quieter it'll be in the morning, though."

"Well, after ruckus from Bunny and Sophie, anyways," Norths chuckles.

"Good night, North," Mary says, before heading into her own room and settling in for the night.

At some time during the night, Jack turns over and hugs Jamie like a human body pillow, snuggling close to him.

The sudden cold contact causes Jamie's face to scrunch up uncomfortably, but he doesn't stir from his alcohol-induced state of unconsciousness.

* * *

The next morning comes much to early for Jack. His ears are ringing and even the little bit of sunlight filtering into the room seems much too bright. His head is another story entirely- he feels like someone ran it over with a truck, then stuck it back up on his shoulders.

Groaning, he tries to sit up before noticing a very cold looking Jamie using his arm as a pillow.

A sneeze throws Jamie back into the land of the living, belatedly realizing that the pillow he just blew spit all over is in fact none other than Jack Frost. He groans as he squeezes his eyes shut, the light making them feel like they're about to explode right out of his skull. The young man is shivering, but even that is a minor inconvenience compared to the constant pounding of his head.

Sophie, Bunny, and a gang of elves and yetis stand right outside the door to the room Jack and Jamie are sharing, each one of them armed with an object or device whose sole purpose is to make as much noise as possible.

Grinning at the others, Bunny asks, "Ready?" At their affirmative nods, he hollers, "NOW!" and proceeds to kick the door in.

Jack doesn't have time to think about anything but how badly his head hurts as the group storms into the room, making a deafening racket that threatens to split his skull open. All he can do is cover his ears, not really caring that he jostles Jamie, and even that doesn't help block out the racket.

Jamie rolls away from the noise, covering his ears clumsily with numb fingers and shoving his face in Jack's side to block out the light.

After a couple minutes of clanging two pans together, Bunny leans over the pair of huddled boys. "And that, mates, is what happens when ya get drunk!"

"Drunk...?" Jack mumbles, confused. "But don't you need to have alcohol to get drunk? All we had was North's eggnog..."

The boy groans in relief as they finally stop with their racket, all but a lone elf who's having way too much fun with the pans. When Jack gives him a murderous glare, though, he drops the pans to the floor with a clang.

"It _was_ the eggnog. Dude, North puts vodka in it!" Sophie laughs. "And we're never going to let you forget about all the goofy stuff you did while you were drunk, either."

"Who puts vodka in eggnog?" Jamie asks, his voice muffled by Jack's hoodie. A short series of coughs has him groaning painfully.

Bunny raises an eyebrow at that. "You should know North by now. He _always_ does."

Careful not to squish Jamie's head, Jack lets himself fall back on the bed with a groan. "I don't even remember anything after the first mug of eggnog."

"You had about two and a half mugs, Jack. And you two were dancing together, fell on the floor, then you got up and started biting people, yelling, 'Jack frost is nippin' at yer nose!'" Sophie's just about doubled over with laughter at the memory of the two boys from last night.

"And Jamie started bawling like a baby when an elf stole 'is mug," Bunny adds, laughing right along with Sophie.

"Kill me now..." Jamie doesn't dare roll over to face the pair as his face blazes bright red.

Jack just groans at the two.

"Well, Merry Christmas boys, and hope you like your fist hangover," Sophie laughs, smacking two pots together before leaving the room to let Jack and Jamie rest a little more, passing a couple snickering elves as she goes.

Jamie's face a pitiful site with flushed cheeks and running nose as he looks up at Jack. "Never again," he groans.

Then, his eyes shoot open and he flies into a sitting position, swaying dangerously as he pushes himself to his feet and runs to the trash can in the corner. He trembles as he unceremoniously empties his stomach of last night's eggnog, repeating, "Never again!"

Jack moves over beside Jamie and rubs his back as he empties the contents of his stomach. Being an immortal, he has a slightly higher tolerance, just enough that he feels nauseous, but not like he's going to throw up.

As his stomach begins to settle a bit, Jamie leans over on the wall, pressing his warm forehead against the cool surface as he pants for air.

It's to this pathetic sight that Mary enters the room. "How are you boys feeling?" she asks quietly.

"Been better," Jack mumbles, grateful for her whispering. "Jamie's sick, though."

Mary walks over and kneels down next to them, giving Jack's shoulder a comforting squeeze as she looks over him. Deeming him miserable, but alright, she turns her attention to her son. She frowns as she notices his flushed cheeks, gently turning his head so she can feel his forehead. "Hmm, you definitely have a fever...must have caught a cold."

Jamie groans at that, moving from the wall to rest his head on his mom's shoulder.

Jack blushes a little, realizing that it must be his fault his friend caught a cold. With his frigid body temperature and sharing the bed last night, there's no way it _couldn't_ have been Jack's fault. He'd even noticed the boy shivering when he woke up.

"Sorry," Jack says, feeling even more miserable. "It's probably my fault."

Mary gives Jack a soft smile as she wraps her arms around her trembling son, running comforting fingers through his hair. "I wouldn't worry about it," she tells him. "He'll be fine in a few days."

"Not...your f-fault," Jamie nearly whispers, clinging tightly to his mother like a lifeline as his world spins.

As Jack watches Jamie, his guilt only intensifies so he stays silent.

"Let's get you something to drink. Maybe North has something you boys can take to help your headaches." Mary manages to pull her son to his feet with some difficulty, him being a whole head taller than her. He leans heavily on her, but she pays him no mind as she asks Jack, "You alright to walk?"

Jack nods, pushing himself up to his feet. His side is sore from all the activity last night and he's a little wobbly, but can walk on his own.

"Boys!" North exclaims. He's quieter than usual, but still fairly loud. "You are up earlier than I was thinking you would be."

"Sophie's fault," Jamie mumbles, cringing at the man's volume.

Ignoring her son, Mary asks, "You wouldn't happen to have anything for hangovers, would you? And some cold medicine for Jamie?"

"Da! Of course," North says, rummaging around in a drawer. He takes out two bottles of pills and gets out two glasses. After doling out the medicine for both boys, he sets a glass of water down in front of them.

Jamie tosses the pills into his mouth, gripping the glass in a white knuckled hold as he gulps down the water.

"Thank you," Mary says.

"Not problem," North replies, watching Jack take his pills at a much more subdued speed than Jamie.

Finishing off his water, Jamie sets the glass down as he feels another sneeze coming on. He rubs at his nose, trying to get the feeling to go away to no avail. His brain feels like it's exploded as the sneeze comes out. Jamie groans, holding his head in his hand.

Mary rubs gentle circles into the young man's back, trying to sooth him any way possible.

Jack watches Jamie for a minute, wincing when he sneezes, before staring at the floor. He plays with the glass in his hands, unsure of what to do for his friend.

After wiping his nose on his sleeve, much to his mother's chagrin, Jamie looks over at his best friend, giving him a lop-sided smile. "Don't worry about me, Bud. I go out in the snow every chance I can get; this isn't the first time I've caught a cold. I'll be fine." His head gives another dull throb and he grimaces, deciding once again that he's never getting drunk again...willingly, at least.

"If we ever have to share a bed again, make sure you steal the blankets from me. It's not like I need them anyways." Jack can't help but smile at his friend. He feels better, but still a bit guilty.

"Duly noted," Jamie laughs, his voice clearly showing how stopped up his nose is. "Though it's not like we really had much choice in the matter. I don't remember much of anything from last night."

"That makes two of us, Jamie," Jack laughs. "I don't remember anything after that first mug."

"I don't think I want to remember, either," Jamie adds with a grimace.

Bunny smirks as he comes up behind them. "Believe me, mates, you don't."

Jack groans when he sees Bunny, recalling the rude awakening he and Jamie had received just a little while ago.

Bunny laughs at the boy's reaction, being sure to be extra loud as payback for all the times the two have played pranks on him.

"Make it stop," Jamie groans, feebly covering his ears.

Jack wrinkles his nose at the rabbit, trying to cover his own ears.

"Okay Bunny, boys have learned lesson," North chuckles, placing a large hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Spoilsport," Bunny grumbles, but quietens nonetheless.

"If boys are feeling better, we open presents!" North exclaims happily, clapping his hands and forgetting he's supposed to be quiet.

Jack winces at the sudden sharp sound, but smiles nonetheless.

Coughing, Jamie says, "Not really feeling better, but might as well".

Mary smiles sympathetically at the two of them, having been in their shoes several times in her younger years.

Jack eagerly follows North to the same room they had been in for the party last night, where Sophie and Sandy are already waiting. They both have a few little boxes with them.

Bunny follows behind Jamie and Mary, already having had his eggs bring in his presents.

Tooth flies in, followed by several of her fairies, who are all loaded down with boxes. "We're not late, are we?"

"Right on time," North says, smiling at the fairy. He walks over to his own stack of gifts he'd had the yetis bring in earlier.

Jack looks around at the number of boxes everyone has in surprise. He'd only had time to create something for Jamie and his sister since his return.

"Oh, good." Tooth sighs in relief as she finds a place to sit down.

"D'ja grab my boxes too, Soph?" Jamie asks, brain too muddled to remember if he brought them or his sister.

"I have them. Figured you'd be too messed up to remember them." Sophie smirks, holding the boxes out to her brother.

Sitting on the floor, Jack takes the two small gifts from his hoodie pocket, one box wrapped in purple, the other in brown.

"Let us begin!" North announces like they're at some event, but the big man's having too much fun to care as he distributes his boxes.

"Thanks," Jamie sniffles, taking the boxes from her and placing them on the floor next to him. He smiles as he opens the gift from North, not in the least bit surprised that the man knew exactly what he wanted. Opening a large wooden box, he sees everything he needs for his artwork: paint, brushes, canvas, etc.

Over the years, Jamie has become an accomplished artist. It started out as doodles of his adventures or just of the Guardians themselves, which slowly evolved into detailed portraits, then eventually became full illustrations.

"Thank you, North," he says gratefully, running his fingers over the different sized brushes.

North smiles, glad Jamie's happy with what he'd found for him. "It's same quality as what's used here. Only best for our boy, Jamie!" North exclaims, grinning.

Sophie opens her gift to find a small felt rabbit that could fit in the palm of her hand. With a squeal, she realizes it has markings just like Bunny's, though this one looks more like a regular rabbit in shape.

"Thank you, North! I love it!" Sophie squeals, holding the tiny creature close.

Blushing, Jack opens his gift. He feels bad that he hadn't been able to get anything for North, but instantly loves his gift - it's a set of nesting dolls just like the ones North had shown him all those years ago when he was first chosen, but this set was painted to resemble Jack instead of North.

Mary is surprised when she's handed a thin box being carried above the heads of two elves. She looks at it in confusion as she takes it from them, looking at North for conformation. "You got me something too? I thought you only got things for kids."

"I get gifts for everyone, Mary. You have been on nice list since you were little girl. Sometimes adults need a little something, too." North smiles.

"Well, thank you," Mary replies. She gently opens the package, taking care not to rip the paper up and make a mess. Reaching a hand in, she pulls the wooden square out, gasping as she flips it over.

Encased in a beautifully decorated wooden frame is what appears to be a highly detailed painting of her family before her husband passed away.

She presses a hand to her mouth as tears form in her eyes. "Thank you."

Jack carefully sets aside his nesting dolls before pulling out his packages and handing them to Sophie and Jamie.

Jamie smiles at Jack as he takes the small, though not surprisingly cold, package. Opening it, he carefully lifts the palm-sized, intricately crafted snowflake. In the center is a carving of two figures, one small, the other slightly taller with a curved staff, having a snowball fight with brilliant smiles on their faces. Even as he holds the snow in his bare hands, the ice doesn't melt.

"I love it, Jack."

"I'm glad," Jack grins. "That took me a while to make."

Sophie opens her package to find an adorable figurine of a rabbit in the box. When she lifts it out it's cold, but like Jamie's snowflake, does not melt. Upon closer inspection, the little rabbit is in fact Bunny, though he looks more like an actual rabbit.

"So cute! How did you come up with this idea, Jack?" Sophie asks curiously.

"You probably don't remember, but that's what Bunny looks like when he's weak," Jack replies, giving Bunny a smug look.

Jamie snorts as he remembers the tiny Bunny with the deep, tough voice, but it quickly turns into a cough.

"Oi, Frostbite," Bunny warns, glaring daggers at the younger Guardian. "I wasn't evah 'weak'. I still kicked Pitch's scrawny butt when I was that size."

"You were a tiny little bunny rabbit," Jack snorts. "You didn't kick his butt, Sandy and I did."

"Yer dreamin'," Bunny retorts, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jack rolls his eyes and smirks, deciding to let Bunny believe what he wants. "Whatever you say, Bunny. Whatever you say."

Next, Sandy passes out his gifts, chiming happily.

Jamie thanks Sandy for the gift of exam night dream sand after opening it, gently setting it down next to his snowflake on top of the wooden box by his chair.

Jack silently thanks Sandy for his gift of dreamless sleep. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone that he was having recurring nightmares after his time with Pitch, evidence that he hadn't been able to completely break free from his hold.

After Bunny and Tooth finish passing out their gifts, Jamie hands his to everyone. Leaving Jack's for last, he hands it to his best friend with a smile. "Merry Christmas, Buddy."

Jack carefully tears the paper away from his gift, to find a painting. It's a beautiful winter scene of a clearing in a forest, with snowy trees and a frozen pond. Jack recognizes the pond as the one where he'd both died, and been reborn. Each of the trees are covered in flowery frost, and high up in one of them is a small, slim figure of a boy wearing a blue hoodie, tan pants and no shoes. It's a painting of Jack Frost, himself.

Instead of thanking his friend, Jack gingerly places the painting down out of harm's way before tackling him in a tight hug.

Jamie laughs as he returns the hug. "I guess you like it, huh? I wouldn't doubt it if that was the real cause of this cold. I sat out there by the pond for a while. It was worth it, though."

He ignores his mother's, "I told you so".

"I love it, Jamie. Just don't go doing things that get you sick." Jack smiles at the boy fondly, holding him at an arms length so he can get a good look at his old friend and his miserably ill state.

Jamie gives him a lop-sided grin, a sniffle ruining any image of coolness he may have had. "No promises on that."

Jack can't help but laugh before trapping the boy in a hug again.

"Okay, enough with the bromance," Sophie giggles, though she thinks the boys' relationship is cute.

Jamie sticks his tongue out at his sister, but pulls back anyway, ruffling the smaller boy's hair.

When Jack looks up at Jamie through his dark bangs, he feels every bit the part of the younger, despite being centuries older. He blows his bangs out of his eyes with a puff and smiles.

* * *

As the day wears on, more presents are exchanged, much food is consumed, and it's overall the best Christmas Mary has ever had. She enjoys her conversations with North, Tooth, and surprisingly Sandy as well, and watching her kids argue back and forth over who is better: Bunny or Jack (though no winner is ever actually declared).

After a while her son's cold gets the better of him, and she finds him curled up in a cozy chair, dead to the world and covered in snoring elves. She feels of his forehead, frowning that his temperature hasn't gone down any, but relieved that he hasn't made it go up any with all his movements today either.  
Running a gentle hand through his hair, she says, "Come on, honey, let's get you home". She sighs as he looks up at her blearily, making it obvious she's not moving him on her own.

Jack gathers the items he and Jamie had received, placing them in a bag North had given him before retrieving his staff from the room he and Jamie had shared over night. North had also given Jack a few more snow globes as well for the trip home and other occasions.

"Would you like me to help?" Jack asks Mary when he sees the shape his friend is in.

"If you don't mind," Mary answers, smiling. She looks back down at the young man in the chair, only to sigh once more when she realizes he's fallen asleep again.

Jack hands the bag and his staff to Sophie as he positions himself under the sleeping boy's shoulder. Hoisting Jamie up, Jack pulls out a snow globe and whispers "Burgess" to it before smashing it on the ground.

"See you guys later." Jack grins before dragging Jamie through the portal.

Sophie makes sure her mom gets through the portal with the rest of their stuff before passing through herself.

Being jostled wakes Jamie enough that he can at least stand with Jack's assistance, but the trip through the portal leaves him disoriented. He sways on his feet as they arrive in the Bennett family living room.

It's all Jack can do to keep the bigger boy on his feet, but manages it somehow. With Sophie's help, Jack gets Jamie up to his room and into his bed.

"You've got to get better now, okay kiddo?" Jack says, ruffling Jamie's hair. "I'm going to head home for now, but I'll be back soon."

Sophie pulls all of Jamie's stuff from the bag before returning both it and Jack's staff.

"You'll come back soon, right Jack?" Jamie asks in a small voice that makes him sound ten years old again. His eyes are half lidded and he's nearly asleep, but he waits silently to hear from his friend again before he leaves.

"Of course I will, Jamie," Jack says, turning back to his friend. He gives Jamie's hand a quick reassuring squeeze. "I'll be back before you know it. I just have to take care of a couple things at home. I haven't been there in quite a while."

"I'll be waiting," Jamie murmurers, even as his eyes drift closed. "I was always...waiting..."

"I'm sorry, Jamie," Jack whispers, waiting for the boy to drift back to sleep before heading out.

Once out of the Bennett home, Jack leaps into the air. Using his staff to control the wind, he soars home on the frigid winter air. Home, to Jack, is a quaint little cabin in the middle of the forest, not too far from his lake. This is the exact same cabin his family lived in while he was human. There's very little remaining around the house to suggest that it was once a small, thriving colonial settlement.

Stepping inside, Jack can smell the mildew and the dust is thick, but he knows he's home.

* * *

A/N: Ghost here! I cannot begin to tell you how much fun this chapter was to write. It was by far our favorite part of this entire story and we've been looking forward to this chapter since the very beginning. Hopefully you all enjoyed it as much as we do.

This isn't the end of this adventure, though, so be sure to keep a lookout for next week's chapter!

Also, if any of you are interested, I have made a sort of prequel video for this fic using its namesake song. You can watch it on YouTube here: /watch?v=kN_0NwDLlB4

As always, reviews are loved!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

It takes Jack almost a week, but he finally finishes cleaning his home. When he swipes a hand across his face he leaves a long smudge of dirt, but doesn't notice. Glad to be done, Jack runs outside, grabbing his staff on his way outside.

With an excited grin, he calls upon the wind as he leaps into the air. He uses the wind to carry himself straight to Jamie's house, where he lands lightly on the windowsill of Jamie's bedroom.

As the days pass, Jamie slowly gets back on his feet after his cold. He's still a bit tired, but overall, he feels much better.

He sits in his room, huddled over the desk against the wall and putting his new art kit to good use. Slowly forming beneath his skilled brush is a picture of Jack being chased by a fuming Bunny throughout North's workshop, a teasing smirk upon the prankster's face as he darts easily around obstacles.

Peeking inside, Jack sees Jamie hard at work over a painting but can't see what it is, so he knocks softly on the glass trying not to startle his friend.

Jamie looks up from his work as he hears the knock on his window, unaware of the different colors of paint smudged on his face from the many times he's wiped at his still slightly running nose. He beams as he sees Jack standing there and rises to open the window to let him in.

"'Bout time you came back!"

"Sorry, took me a little longer than I expected it to," Jack chuckles, noticing the colorful smears on Jamie's face. "What are you painting?"

Jamie laughs at the smudges on Jack's face, unaware of that on his own as he waves off the boy's apology. Motioning to the desk, he says, "See for yourself".

Jack jumps down from the sill, landing lightly. "Is that me and Bunny?" Jack asks, bending over the unfinished painting. "You've certainly caught my good side." Jack winks, spinning around to face Jamie.

"You think so?" Jamie replies. "I've still gotta make some touch ups here and there..." He rubs his chin in thought, unknowingly wiping more paint on his face.

Jack can't help but laugh as he watches Jamie smear paint all over his face. "What kind of paint are you using? 'Cause you got a little here... and here... and here." Jack laughs, painting various places on his own face.

Jamie chuckles at that, adding, "At least I don't have dirt all over my face too. What, did'ja get in a fight with a dust bunny?"

Jack laughs, scrubbing at his face with a dusty sleeve. "You could say that. I've been cleaning up my cabin. Ten years of neglect adds up."

Crinkling his nose in disgust, Jamie says, "I don't even want to imagine how bad that must have been. And I thought my dorm was bad".

"Count yourself lucky that you were sick, then. Otherwise I'd have had you come out and help." Jack chuckles, ruffling Jamie's hair and noticing there's little streaks of paint running through it in places. "I hope you aren't using oil paints, Jamie. Otherwise you're going to have to take a bath in turpentine."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Jamie admits with a laugh.

"C'mere, let me help you get that off your face. You look like a colorful dork," Jack laughs, grabbing a rag and the little container of turpentine from the table Jamie had been working on, before patting the bed for Jamie to sit beside him.

Jamie complies, making sure to keep his hands off the bed as he sits down. "You don't look much better."

"Mine comes off easier, though. I'll borrow your bathroom when we're done with you." Jack scrunches his nose, not fond of the smell of the paint thinner as he puts some on a cloth before using it to gently wipe at some of the paint on Jamie's face.

Jamie nearly holds his breath as the foul smelling liquid is rubbed on his face, only taking the shallowest of breaths. "It coming off?" he asks.

Jack responds to Jamie with a nod. When he's done, he leaves to grab a washcloth to help get the smell of the thinner off of Jamie's skin. When he returns, he's already washed his own face and tosses a damp cloth to his friend.

"You stink, Jamie," Jack teases him.

Jamie sticks his tongue out with a laugh as he scrubs at his face. "That's why my roommate hates when I paint."

"Can't say I blame him," Jack laughs. "Did you have any plans for today? 'Cause if you didn't and you''re feeling up to it, I'm thinking a good snowball fight is in order. I'm pretty much completely healed now."

To demonstrate his point, Jack rotates his torso, lifts his hands over his head and does other actions that had been excruciatingly painful just a week ago.

Wadding up the wash rag, Jamie tosses it across the room where it lands in a hamper. He stretches as he stands up, his back stiff from slouching over the desk for so long. "Sounds like fun," he answers with a smirk.

With an excited whoop, Jack jumps back out the window and lands lightly on the ground. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" he shouts, teasing his friend.

"Some of us can't fly!" Jamie hollers out the window before he runs downstairs to pull on his shoes and coat. He grabs his gloves as he opens the front door, smiling widely when he sees Jack waiting on him.

"That was the point, kiddo," Jack laughs when his friend reappears, excited and full of pent-up energy from being stuck inside for so long with no outlet.

Calling upon the wind, Jack tumbles his way to the forest through the air, performing acrobatic acts simply for the fun of it as he does cartwheels, flips, and other maneuvers as he goes.

Jamie laughs as he runs to keep up with the hyper boy. Scooping up a handful of snow, he mashes it into a ball before launching it at Jack. "Slow down, will ya?"

"Why would I do that?" Jack teases, swooping down to pick up his own snow before tossing it back at Jamie.

Jamie jumps behind a tree to avoid getting pelted by snow. "You're gonna have to do better than that!" he taunts as he builds up more ammo.

Jack lands on his feet behind a nearby tree to create his own ammo with the swipe of his staff.

Satisfied with his number of snowballs, Jamie leans around his hiding place to try to locate Jack, arm poised to throw once he finds his target.

"You're thinking too much!" Jack shouts, tossing multiple snowballs at Jamie.

Jamie yelps as he ducks behind the tree again. He waits for a lull in the barrage before he throws one of his own in Jack's direction.

Jack narrowly dodges the snowball before continuing, this time faster as he's determined to beat Jamie.

Grabbing his pile of snowballs, Jamie takes off farther into the woods, moving from tree to tree to avoid being hit. Every once in a while, he throws a ball at his friend before taking off again.

As he unknowingly nears the nearby frozen pond, he turns to launch another snowball, only to run into what feels like a solid concrete wall. Before he can hit the ground, dark tendrils wrap around his body, slowly rising until they're gripping around his neck. He scratches at them, trying to loosen their hold on him as he gasps for air.

"Jamie Bennett," a voice purrs from the shadows of the trees. "What a _pleasure_ to see you again."

"Jamie!" Jack shouts, having pursued the boy. "Let him go, he has nothing to do with this!" Jack stands a few feet away from Pitch, his dark eyes wide in terror.

"Oh, but he has everything to do with this, Jack," Pitch says as he steps out of the shadows. "He took you from me; it's only right that I return the favor."

Unable to turn around with the sand holding him in place, Jamie wheezes out, "Run...Jack...Get out of here..." He gasps as the tendrils tighten, forcing the air out of his lungs.

"Don't you dare hurt him!" Jack snarls, his eyes narrowing. He doesn't move closer, for fear of Pitch killing his friend.

Pulling Jamie closer to them, Pitch backhands him across the face, smirking at the hoarse cry of pain it elicits. "Have you forgotten so soon who gives the orders?" he asks, glaring over at Jack.

"Let him go, Pitch. I won't let you order me around anymore," Jack declares, his head held high, defiant. His free hand curls into a fist, nails biting into his flesh. The hand wrapped around the staff grips it tightly, the wood glowing faintly as his eyes flash.

"That's a shame. I guess we'll just have to get rid of your bad influence," Pitch snarls as he sees the spark of lighter blue in Jack's eyes. He thrusts his hand to the side, flinging the sand so Jamie goes flying. The young man has just enough time to take in a deep lungful of air before he crashes in a painful heap on the hardened ice of the pond. He smirks as Jamie goes limp.

"Jamie!" Jack screams, suddenly having flashbacks to when he tried to save his sister all those years ago. He rushes to the edge of the pond, frightened the ice will break beneath the boy and the pond will swallow Jamie just as it had Jack.

A group of Nightmares form on the ice, blocking the boy's path while a tendril of black sand wraps around his shoulders, pulling him away from the pond.

"How fitting it would be," Pitch starts, "to have Jack Frost's very first believer to die in the exact same place and method as the Winter Spirit, himself. I doubt the Man in the Moon would bring him back like he did you."

"No... No!" Jack shouts, trying to break away from the sand holding him. "I won't let you do that to him. Jamie!" Jack thrashes in the grip of the black sand before bringing his staff up and shooting one of the Nightmares with a blast of ice.

The Nightmare explodes in a burst of sand and ice, causing the others to screech and stamp their hooves. Cracks begin to form underneath them, splintering across the middle of the frozen water.

Jack feels as if his heart is being torn apart as he watches the network of cracks on the ice around Jamie web out, weakening the only thing between the boy and an icy death.

Suddenly, Jack's fear turns into an intense rage. Gripping his staff with both hands, Jack wheels around to face Pitch, his eyes flashing and glowing as they return to their old ice-blue color.

Tightening his hold on Jack, Pitch growls, "You _will_ fear me, boy".

"I'm done being afraid, Pitch," Jack snarls, sending another blast of ice at the taller man.

The Nightmare King's eyes widen as he watches Jack's eyes return to their natural icy blue. His hair lightens and shortens back to its usual style like icicles melting in the afternoon sun as his skin darkens slightly to give him more of a frozen look instead of that of a walking corpse. The sunken eyes and skeletal body fill out, giving Jack the appearance of a seventeen-year-old once more.

Caught off guard by the sudden change, the blast of ice smashes into Pitch's shoulder, knocking him back a few steps. He flounders for a moment before he asks, "But how? You belong to me! How are you back to normal?!"

"I don't belong to you. I don't belong to _anyone_." Jack's voice is low and his eyes are narrowed to slits.

His anger releases in one big shock wave, similar to the one from before he'd left, when he'd changed. His thoughts are far from Jamie as the pulse of frozen air hits anything and everything in its path.

The Nightmares rear up as the frosty air reaches them, freezing them in place. Their bodies unintentionally act as shields, blocking the young man behind them from the brunt of the frigid air as the ice underneath them hardens into solid ice once more.

Pitch lowers the wall of sand he used to block the attack, reforming it into daggers floating around him. "You keep telling yourself that." With that, he throws several daggers at Jack.

Before Jack can throw up a shield of ice, a couple of the daggers pierce his body, but he manages to block the rest. Hissing, he pulls one of the black daggers from his left arm and another from his thigh. He then tosses the daggers right back at Pitch.

Pitch bats a hand at the daggers, sending them into a nearby tree. "Face it, Jack," he sneers. "Even in this form, you're no match for me. You're weak; you've always been weak. You can't do anything without the rest of the Guardians there to bail you out of the mess _you_ created."

As he finishes, he sends the rest of the sharp spikes soaring toward Jack.

"Weak or not, I won't fall for your tricks. I'd rather die than go back to your side," Jack says from the other side of his frozen wall, the spikes embedded on the other side. "I won't let you hurt anyone I care for ever again."

Touching the ground, Jack pulls a sharp spear made of ice from the snow. The end glints in the low light as Jack looks at it for a moment, before hurling it with all his strength toward Pitch.

Stepping out of the way of the spear, Pitch replies darkly, "If you wish for death so badly, then so be it".

Jack glares at Pitch, trying to think of anything he could do to stop Pitch before he could get to Jamie.

Summoning more Nightmares, Pitch forces them to surround Jack, while sending a lone horse over to Jamie, still hidden behind its frozen brethren. The dark creatures puff black smoke out of their nostrils as they glare at the young Guardian. All of them paw threateningly at the ice underfoot, the one near the unconscious young man coming dangerously close to stepping on him.

"Leave him alone, Pitch! If I'm so weak, then why are you so determined to get me? What do you want with a weakling like me?" Jack shouts, calling upon the wind to lift him high in the sky.

Following the boy up in a whirl of sand, Pitch answers, "I've told you, Jack. I can make you stronger; stronger than you'd ever be with the Guardians, with _him_," he points to Jamie, who barely misses a kick to the head by the rowdy Nightmare. "Nothing goes together better than Ice and Dark. Together, we could be unstoppable."

"I don't want to be stronger. Not like that. I just want to protect my friends and the children of the world. If strength is having everyone fear you, then I'd rather be weak. I prefer those centuries of solitude over the years I spent with you, Pitch," Jack spits, furious.

"That's truly a pity, Jack." Pitch raises his hand, a mass of dark sand beginning to swirl and take form in his hand. "You had such potential. But alas, I have no need of an unwilling pawn." Thrusting his hand into the darkness above his head, the Nightmare King slowly draws back after grabbing what's inside.

The blade in his grasp is a long, intricately designed scythe, black fog seemingly rolling off its length, giving it an ominous feel.

Jack watches Pitch create the weapon with an uneasy feeling in his gut. He levels his staff on Pitch, widening his stance into a defensive posture. The spirit's eyes show nothing but grim determination as he faces off with the much taller man.

Without warning, Pitch launches himself toward the boy, swinging the scythe heavily at him.

Jack barely manages to get out of the way in time, but the blade cuts his hoodie wide open, giving him a deep gash in the stomach in the process. Jack hisses in pain, but swings his staff at Pitch.

Pitch easily deflects the staff, his many year's experience giving him an advantage over Jack. After knocking the wood to the side, he brings the butt of his scythe around to dig into the fresh cut on the boy's middle.

Jack hisses in pain as he covers the wound with his hand. The gash is slowly oozing red blood that stains Jack's hoodie, and he drops a few feet before shooting back up again like a rocket, blasting ice at Pitch.

Pitch ducks out of the way of the ice. Launching himself at Jack again, he brings his blade down on the shepherd's crook, frowning when the glistening wood doesn't break.

Jack uses the wind to shove Pitch away, punching him in the stomach with the force of the air.

Pitch grunts as the air is knocked out of him, sending him back several feet. Recovering quickly, though, he grabs some more sand, sending black arrows flying from his newly formed bow.

Jack hisses when one of the arrows hits home in his side, though thankfully misses anything vital. Ripping it out, Jack gasps in pain, but returns fire with sharp shards of ice. He falls back on his snowball fight strategy - overwhelm your opponent by firing as much as you can, as long as you can.

Pitch is only allowed a moment to enjoy the look of pain on Jack's face before he's nearly overwhelmed by the boy's barrage. Forced to dodge, block, and shoot down the ice blades, the King of Nightmares is pushed back, absolutely fuming.

Jack wants so badly to take a moment to gloat about pushing Pitch back, but knows it isn't just his own life at stake here. He's also fighting for Jamie's as well.

Jack continues the barrage for as long as he can, but the amount of energy it takes to do so, plus the pain from his wounds, are starting to take their toll on him. He clenches his teeth together as the pain is beginning to get to him.

Pitch smirks as he sees Jack wearing down. An unexpected hit to the face, however, by a hard packed ball of snow wipes the smile right off his face.

Jamie, side of his head covered in blood and looking a bit worse for wear with the large bruise around his neck, stands in the middle of the pond, surrounded by Nightmares with his arm still in the air from throwing the snowball. His aim has improved greatly from ten years ago, when he tried to hit Jack while up on the roof, and despite his tired appearance, he still smiles brightly at his best friend.

"You can do this, Jack! I believe in you!"

"Get out of here!" Jack shouts, holding his stomach, blood seeping through his pale fingers. "Jamie, please!" Jack pleads with his friend before using the opportunity to hit Pitch with a second, shorter barrage of ice.

Grabbing a good sized stick nearby, Jamie swings it like a baseball bat, immensely thankful for the years of playing the sport during the Summer. It smashes into the face of the nearest Nightmare, causing the dark horse to burst apart. "Don't you worry about me, Buddy!" Jamie hollers back, taking another swipe at an approaching horse. "I'll be fine! You just focus on beating that freak show!"

"I knew I should have ended you when I had the chance," Pitch growls. He prepares to attack the mortal down below, but has to pull back at the second wave of ice.

Jack's heart swells with pride but he doesn't have time to dwell on it. He tries to take advantage of the fact that Pitch is off guard by hurling yet another ice spear at Pitch.

Blocking the many ice daggers, Pitch doesn't see the spear until it's too late. He gasps as a sharp pain shoots through his stomach and, when he looks down, he's surprised to see the large piece of ice through his upper middle and protruding from his back.

Jamie cheers as he sees the spear hit home, but is cut short as he's forced to jump out of the way of a charging Nightmare.

Jack's eyes are wide as he realizes he's finally hurt the Nightmare King. Shaking himself out of his daze, Jack rushes Pitch and punches him in the face.

The force of the blow knocks Pitch from the air, where he lands harshly on the ground below. The ice sticking out of his back shatters on impact, sending little shards into his flesh from behind. Struggling for breath, he wheezes, "I don't...understand...How could I...be defeated...by someone so weak...?"

Jack lands beside Pitch, holding his stomach again with a bloody hand, his staff pointed at the man's throat with the other. "Think what you want, Pitch, but you don't mess with my friends. Or my family. Even if I am weak, I am also determined." Jack grins before kicking Pitch hard in the side.

Pitch can't hold back the cry of pain that comes out as a rib breaks. Blood runs down the side of his face as the crimson liquid slowly fills his mouth before running over. Spitting it out weakly, he mutters, "Don't think...you've won, boy. I'll have...my revenge".

With one last struggle for air, the King of Nightmares bursts into black sand. A strong wind comes by, whipping up the sand and blowing it away until nothing remains but a patch of blood on the snow.

Jamie looks up from his cowered position, having been expecting a blow to the head from the rearing Nightmare in front of him. As he looks around, he sees no trace that Pitch and his horses have even been there.

"You did it!" he whoops as he jumps to his feet. He immediately regrets it, though, as his world spins and he lands with an oomf on the hard ice. "Okay, no fast movements...got it."

Jack falls to his knees, suddenly weak as the adrenaline from the fight leaves him. He can't help but whimper in pain as he finally allows his body to succumb to the pain of his wounds.

Looking up, Jamie's excited brown eyes are the last things he sees before passing out due to blood loss.

Jamie's eyes widen as he watches his friend fall. Vertigo forgotten, he scrambles over to him.

"Jack? Jack!" He falls to his knees, checking him over. A gasp escapes his lips as he sees the gashes in the boy's stomach. "Come on, Buddy, stay with me!"

As he presses his hands to the wounds to try to stanch the blood flow, he's surprised to feel a familiar shape in the pocket of Jack's hoodie. Pulling it out, he thanks whoever may be listening that the snowglobe wasn't broken in the fight.

"I hope this works," he says. "Santoff Claussen!" With that, he smashes the ball of glass on a nearby tree. The familiar distortion of a portal appears only a second later, and Jamie breathes a sigh of relief.

Scooping the Winter Spirit up gently so as to not jostle his wounds, Jamie cradles him close as he jumps through. He begins screaming for help before they've even made it all the way into the brightly colored building.

"Whoa, whoa. What is matter, Jamie?" North asks, walking around the corner. When he sees the limp Winter Spirit in the boy's arms, North is shocked. The first thing he notices is Jack's appearance - the reappearance of his snowy silver hair, his hoodie being the same soft blue as the sky with frost here and there on it. When he notices the blood on Jack's stomach and on Jamie's head, North immediately lifts the boy carefully from Jamie's hands.

"We must hurry. What happened?" North asks, leading the way to an infirmary type room further into the building.

The words rush forth as Jamie follows the large man. "We were playing out in the snow and Pitch showed up. He grabbed me and slammed me onto the ice; I don't know what happened then, but when I came to, they were fighting and I threw a snowball at Pitch and then I was surrounded by Nightmares, so I fought them off and when I looked up Jack had ran a spear through Pitch and he fell and -I don't know if he died, do you guys die?- he just exploded and Jack passed out and I didn't know where else to go so I came here and you have to help him!"

His slurred words grow more frantic as his dilated eyes find it hard to focus on North. He lists dangerously to one side, no longer able to walk straight. The blood on his face feels sticky and uncomfortable and he wipes at it sluggishly with his coat sleeve as he speaks.

North swears under his breath before calling for a yeti. He instructs the yeti to help Jamie get to the infirmary, even if that means carrying the boy.

Reaching the room, North lays Jack on one of the beds, and has the yeti help Jamie up on to another. "You both will be fine," he says gruffly, frowning over the boys. "You have concussion, and Jack lost much blood."

North tells the yeti to make sure Jamie doesn't fall asleep or pass out while he goes to find the stuff he needs to care for the boys.

Jamie lays on the cot, not completely sure how he got here as the earlier adrenaline leaves him. He looks up at the yeti hovering nearby. "Where'd 'e go?"

His eyes threaten to close as the lids grow heavier. He blinks several times, but can feel himself losing in the battle to stay awake.

The yeti is gently shaking Jamie, grunting at him to try to keep the boy awake when North returns, carrying a basic first aid kit.

"Stay awake, Jamie," North orders as he peels Jack's bloody hoodie from his body. "You can't sleep."

Jamie's blinking is long and slow, eyes only managing to stay halfway open. "'M tired," he protests weakly, not wanting to stay awake any longer.

North continues trying to talk to Jamie as he patches up Jack's wounds the best he can. The gash on his stomach involves stitches, but the hole in his hip isn't very serious; he just disinfects and covers it with a bandage.

Shortly after, a handful of elves toddle into the room and over to Jamie's bed. One of them climbs right up in the bed and gets into Jamie's face, where it starts talking and flinging its arms around in an animated way as if it's having the best conversation ever.

Jamie stares at the little creatures like they're the strangest things he's ever seen. "I dunno what you're saying," he mumbles to the one sitting on his chest. "What're you saying?" Turning to North, he asks again, "What're they saying?"

"They try to keep you awake, Jamie," North chuckles, watching the elf as it tugs at Jamie's hair. Not hard, but enough to try to get Jamie's attention again as it resumes its senseless chattering.

"Oh..." Jamie's eyes slowly roll back over to the elf, taking a minute to focus on it again.

North covers his ears when he notices the elf pulling out a trumpet, and the elf gives a blast on the horn to try to keep Jamie awake.

Jamie cries out at the loud noise, covering his ears desperately to block out the sound. "Stop," he pleads.

"Okay, Okay, give Jamie room. He needs rest," North says, plucking the elf from Jamie's chest by the hat. The little elf flails until he's back on the ground, and the group takes off running. "You sleep now, Jamie. We wait for you and Jack."

Jamie nods as he mumbles something unintelligible. His eyes drift closed, and he's asleep before he even realizes it.

* * *

Hours later, Jack slowly begins to wake up. He groans when he feels the sharp pain lance through his abdomen, and glances down to find he's no longer wearing his hoodie, but there's white gauze wrapped around his midsection. There's faint pink spots beginning to show on the bandages, and he knows they need to be changed, but has absolutely no energy.

It takes all of Jack's energy to turn to find Jamie laying on the next bed over, snoring softly. Jack smiles, remembering that he's gotten rid of Pitch, even if just for now.

Jamie's face scrunches up as he dreams, but it relaxes a moment later as he rolls over, unknowingly facing his friend in the other bed.

"I won't let anyone hurt you again, Jamie. I promise," Jack whispers.

"Good, you are awake," North booms, entering the room. His loud voice causes Jack to flinch, but the big man doesn't notice.

The loud noise causes Jamie to jerk awake with a gasp, but he's forced to squeeze his eyes closed as the bright lights in the room send a painful throb throughout his skull.

"Jamie! You too!" North exclaims, oblivious to the boy's pain. "You feeling any better?"

"I think I did it, North," Jack whispers, his throat sore. "I think we got rid of him."

Jamie uses his arm to block out the light, peeking out slightly to try to see the other two occupants of the room. "Wha-what happened?" The past several hours are a blur, no memory staying complete long enough for the young man to be able to figure anything out from it.

"We did it, Jamie." Jack grins at the confused boy. "Whatever may come of Pitch, I'm free." Jack slowly, carefully sits up and turns so he can see his friend.

North's eyes are wide, his mouth pulled into a little "O" before stretching out into a big grin. With long, muscular arms, North scoops both boys into a hug, forgetting about them both being injured. "Wonderful!"

He releases the squirming pair after a moment.

Jamie groans as he's dropped unceremoniously back onto the bed, but smiles nonetheless at Jack. "I told you you could do it." His voice is hoarse from being strangled by Pitch, the bruises around his neck an ugly deep purple.

"I'm just so... glad," Jack sighs, falling back onto the bed. "How's this been for a winter break, Jamie? Exciting enough for ya?" Jack laughs, the happiest his been in years.

"Best I've had since I was a kid," Jamie laughs. Then quietly he adds, "I'm proud of you, Jack".

Jack doesn't reply, just grins like a little kid as he stares at the ceiling.

"I say this calls for celebration!" North exclaims, and a few of the elves toddle back in, carrying trumpets they immediately begin playing.

"No alcohol this time, please," Jamie says, trying his best to ignore the elves' music. "My head hurts as it is."

"Agreed. None of my eggnog this time." North chuckles, his belly bouncing.

"Good," Jamie says. Tenderly touching the gash on the side of his head, he belatedly realizes North must have cleaned it up and wrapped a bandage around his head while he was asleep.

"Thanks for your help, North."

"No problem." North grins. "You have done much for us, too."

Jamie just grins at that, throat still sore from Pitch's sand. With a huff, he attempts to stand. He wobbles on his feet at first, but eventually manages to stay upright.

Jack sits back up, slowly and carefully as the action pulls at the stitches along his abdomen.

"I'm glad Pitch didn't do any more than this," Jack says, giving Jamie an apologetic look. "Sometimes I wonder if you would have been better off not knowing about me - if I shouldn't have just rejected the Guardians and stayed invisible..."

An uncharacteristic flash of anger hits Jamie at that. "Don't you _dare_ think you'd be better off alone," he snaps, hurt flashing across his face. "I don't even want to imagine a world where that would have happened. You hear me? You're my best friend, Jack Frost; I don't regret that, not one bit, so don't you start acting like we'd be better off if I never believed in you."

Jack looks at Jamie, eyes wide - he's not used to the uncharacteristic anger from the normally happy, gentle boy. "But I've only gotten you hurt, Jamie," Jack reasons. "Someday you could be killed, just because you're my friend..."

"Oh, and you think you getting hurt by yourself would have been any better?" Jamie can feel a tightness in his throat, threatening to make him cough, but he presses on anyway. "If I hadn't been there today- ugh, I don't even wanna think about it, but you would've _died_, Jack! Sure, you would have defeated Pitch, but what about after? You would have bled out! Right in my backyard, and I never would have even known until it was too late, and-" He's cut off as the cough finally breaks free, forcing him to double over.

"Jamie!" Jack shouts, rushing over to his friend despite his protesting abdomen. He places a tentative hand on the boy's back, unsure of what to do to ease his pain.

"Jamie, you were just as close to dying as I was," Jack says softly, rubbing soothing circle's on Jamie's back. "He was choking you, Jamie. He gave you a concussion by throwing you headfirst on the ice. He did it because he knew you are important to me."

"I don't care," Jamie grits out. It takes another minute for him to finally get relief from the coughing, but when he does, he stands up to his full height and wraps Jack in a gentle hug. "I don't care," he repeats, mumbling into the smaller boy's hair. "Life is meaningless if I can't share it with my big brother."

Jack returns the hug, tears pricking behind his eyes. "I missed you so much, Jamie..." Jack mumbles. "I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't been thinking of you all those years..."

Pulling back just enough to be able to see him, Jamie says, "Well, you don't have to find out. Pitch is gone, and I'm not going anywhere for a _long_ time". Laughing, he adds, "You're stuck with me, squirt".

"I think I can live with that, kiddo." Jack smiles, gripping Jamie's arms like a lifeline. "I'll have to make sure to visit you at your college. You have to go back soon, don't you?"

Jack never wished he was human again as much as he did at that moment - to be able to walk beside Jamie through his life, in a way only another human could. The fact that many people think the boy is crazy because his best friend is Jack Frost and he still believes in all the childhood myths worries Jack.

"Yup," Jamie answers with a smile. "I've got about a week before I have to go back. But you know, I think everyone there needs a good snow day, don't you?" His smile turns into a grin, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Of course! I'm always up for a good snow day." Jack's answering grin is just as mischievous as Jamie's.

"They won't know what hit 'em."

Jamie finally lets go of Jack, the grin still on his face. Turning to North, who he completely forgot was still in the room, he asks, "So what'd you have in mind for this party?"

"Grand celebration! Trumpets, confetti - the works!" North shouts, throwing his hands up in the air.

Jamie grimaces at the thought of more trumpets, but recovers quickly. "Let's do this, then!"

Jack chuckles when he feels Jamie tense, watching North as he leaves to go start preparing for the party.

"So who do you think is going to be the entertainment for tonight? We've done it already." Jack laughs, throwing an arm over Jamie's shoulder for support, as he had begun to sway dangerously with the pain from his wound.

Jamie holds the smaller boy up easily, not missing a beat. "I think it's Bunny and Soph's turn for some humiliation, don't you?" His smirk is positively evil as he tries to think of different ways to get back at the pair for their stunt with the elves.

"Sounds like fun to me," Jack laughs, winking at his friend.

Chuckling, Jamie leads him to the main room in search of North. They don't move very fast because of their injuries, but they eventually find him.

When the boys find North, he's busy instructing the yetis in how and where to put up decorations. Currently, a harried yeti is trying to paint little snowflakes North had initially told him to paint one color, but is now told to paint another.

"Boys!" North exclaims, "You are up and about. Good! Soon we will let others know for your big celebration party!"

Jamie moves them over to a nearby chair, where he eases Jack down into it. After making sure the boy is alright, he moves over to North.

"If you want, I can run home and get mom and Sophie. I'm sure they'd like to be here."

"Yes! More the merrier!" North smiles, the plan of revenge on Sophie and Bunny unknown to the big man.

"Great!" Jamie replies. He looks over his shoulder at Jack, a wide smirk on his face. "I'll be right back, then."

"Use this, is faster." North tosses Jamie a snow globe.

Jamie catches the globe easily, sending a quick thanks to the large man. He utters the name of his hometown, picturing his living room in his mind's eye, then smashes it on the floor.

With just a few steps, he's standing in the middle of the familiar room of his family home.

Sophie just about jumps out of her skin when her brother suddenly comes out of nowhere in the middle of the living room. She'd been happily watching a TV show when he showed up in front of her.

"The heck, Jamie! You've got to stop doing that." Sophie sighs, trying to see around her brother.

Upon hearing her daughter's yell, Mary rushes into the living room. Her eyes widen as she spots Jamie standing in front of a portal, head bandaged, neck bruised all the way around, and shirt and coat covered in blood. "What happened?! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mom," Jamie laughs. "Just a concussion, nothing to worry about."

He winces as she shrieks her question of just _how_ in the world he had gotten hurt in the first place.

His face lights up in a brilliant smile as he says, "Jack should be the one to tell you, come on".

Sophie looks at her brother, one eyebrow raised. "You aren't normal, Jamie. People don't usually look that happy when someone asks how they got hurt." Sophie laughs, uncrossing her legs before standing. "We going to Santoff Claussen I assume?"

"Yup!" he answers happily. "And my getting hurt was completely worth it for what happened."

Mary looks at her son skeptically, but steps forward to follow him nonetheless.

Sophie just rolls her eyes, hoping his single-minded idiocy doesn't rub off as she follows him through the portal.

Jamie grins at Jack as they return, going over to stand by him as they wait for the others.

Taking in Jack's changed appearance and even worse condition, Mary asks, "What on Earth happened to you two?"

Jack greets everyone from his place in the chair, still tired from the fight. "We got in a bit of a fight," Jack answers, giving Mary a weak smile.

"Not with each other, I hope. Because you both look like you lost the fight," Sophie says, taking in the sheer number of injuries on both boys, and the amount of blood on her brother. Since Jack still isn't wearing a top due to the gash on his stomach, the bandages can be clearly seen, a little blood staining them.

"Of course we didn't fight each other. You should've seen the other guy, though," Jamie smirks, sharing a knowing look with his best friend.

"There aren't too many fights that end when the guy turns into sand," Jack laughs. "We beat Pitch. I don't know if it's for good or not, but he's gone."

He looks at the trio with a dazed smile on his face, still not quite believing Pitch could be gone.

"You are here!" North shouts from the other side of the room, making his way over from where he'd been tormenting instructing the yetis. "I have called others. They will be here soon."

"Bunny's coming?" Sophie suddenly perks up, her eyes lighting up.

"Wait, what do you mean you 'beat Pitch'?" Mary asks, confused as she only picks up on that part of what the boys told her. "How? When?"

"Apparently snowball fights can get out of hand around here," Jack laughs. "We were having a snowball fight earlier when Pitch showed up. I'm sure you don't really want to know more than that, just that we beat him."

Jamie laughs at that. "You know, I think whenever we have a snowball fight, we should just automatically assume something's gonna happen."

Mary shoots her son a glare at that, but agrees that, no, she doesn't want all the details of how they defeated the Boogeyman. As long as they're safe, she can live without knowing.

Jack finally gets up as the others begin to arrive, starting with Sandy who immediately starts chiming and gesturing when he sees the state the two boys are in.

He can't help but laugh at his friend's comment as he drapes an arm over his shoulder for support. "This whole anemic thing isn't much fun." Jack gives Jamie a weak smile.

"I know what you mean, Bud," Jamie answers as he watches Tooth and Bunny arrive. "Concussions aren't too great either." After a pause, he adds, "But we're alive, and nothing Pitch could ever throw at us is gonna tear us apart again".

Silently, Jack hugs his best friend. He wholeheartedly wants to believe Jamie, but something just doesn't feel right to him. However, he can do nothing about the feeling but hope he's wrong.

Plastering on a false smile, Jack takes Jamie to join the others.

* * *

The party lasts well into the night, this time the main attraction being Bunny, Sophie, and a prank involving elves, Phil the yeti, a snow globe, a bucket of blue paint, and a pound of solid ice. After much merriment and conversation from the more mature of the group, and arguing from the rest, they each go their separate ways.

Their jobs call them back to work, but the excitement at the defeat of Pitch Black remains for years to come.

Jamie's final week of Christmas Vacation flies by way too fast for his liking, and before long he has to go back to school. He says his goodbyes to his friends and family and leaves Burgess with promises to return during Spring Break.

Little does he know that's a promise he will never fulfill.

* * *

A/N: Anime Angel Alchemist here!

Dun Dun Dun! No, this is not the last chapter, the next one is! So never fear, just keep reading! Though, I do feel it's only fair to warn you that if you're at all emotional you may want to prepare a box of tissues, because the ending is a bit of a tear-jerker. Don't kill us for it! We love our characters, and have a sequel planned (and finished)!

See y'all in a couple weeks ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Everyone knows Nathan isn't quite right. He's always had a temper, though a brilliant mind. He's seen Jamie Bennett around the campus, and resents him. He sees the way the younger boy interacts with everyone else.

"It's not fair!" he shouts, kicking a trashcan in a little alley between two buildings in town. "He's stupid! He's just a happy idiot! Why does everyone like him so much!"

Nathan takes his anger out on the trashcan, not caring that it doesn't belong to him. All he cares about is venting his anger.

Being drawn to the dark alley by the anger simply radiating off the young man, a shadow crawls it's way across the ground until it wraps it's way up his body to rest against his temple. It forces images into his mind: Jamie Bennett losing his spotlight; Nathan rising in popularity; Jamie begging him for forgiveness for his insolence.

"Simply remove him from the equation," it whispers. "If Jamie is gone, no one will ever ignore you again."

Nathan grins. It's an ugly, twisted smile of the insane.

"That's it!" He shouts, stopping suddenly. "I have to get rid of him."

It doesn't take Nathan long to think of a plan - he's a genius after all! Or at least that's what he tells himself. With a dark chuckle, he leaves the alleyway to procure his weapon of choice - a semi-automatic gun his father had always kept around at home. He never bothered keeping it in a case anyways. He'd never even notice it was gone.

Satisfied, the shadow slinks back into the darkness, an eerie chuckle echoing in the small space the only evidence anything was there.

* * *

Since finding out where Jamie went to college, Jack had been visiting him every evening. When the boy was free, they'd chat. When he was busy with homework, Jack would simply sit and watch. The Winter Spirit is fascinated, though very confused by all the work Jamie has to do.

Stretching as he places his pencil down and stands up, Jamie looks over at Jack, thankful his roommate had gone off to a party for the night. "How about we get some fresh air?"

"Yes!" Jack exclaims, having begun to get bored of watching his friend write equations he had no idea as to what they meant. "If nothing else, a walk would be wonderful."

Jack jumps up from his place on Jamie's bed, like a puppy ready to go on his walk.

Chuckling as he grabs his coat, Jamie can't help but agree. His brain feels as if it's going to explode after his hours of homework, and he sighs when he glances at the unfinished essay still waiting to be written for his Children's Literature class. At least he got to pick Jack Frost as his topic for Folklore...

"I could really go for a coffee right about now. You want some ice cream or something?" he throws behind him as he heads out of the building toward the local café.

* * *

The weapon glints in the low light of the streetlamps, Nathan's hand steady on the gun. He doesn't bother to hide the gun as he moves through the deserted streets, making his way to the college.

Nathan glances into a few of the buildings as he goes, and is pleased to find Jamie sitting in a café at a table by himself. Without a care to his own safety, he enters the shop, his gun drawn. He aims the barrel at the cashier, hoping to make the whole thing look more like a burglary instead of a plan to murder the boy.

Jack is horrified when he sees someone enter the building holding a gun, thoughts of ice cream forgotten.

The whole place is silent as Nathan shouts to the frightened woman, and a shot rings out. Her face is frozen in fear as she falls to the floor, blood pouring from the hole in her chest. Panic ensues.

Jamie jumps harshly at the loud noise, eyes widening in horror as he watches the life fade out of the cashier's crumpled form. He's surprised to see his friend, Nathan holding the smoking gun.

Sharing a glance with Jack, the young man slowly stands, carefully making his way to the other student, hands raised non-threateningly. "Put the gun down, Nathan. You don't need to do this."

Nathan spins around to face Jamie, the muzzle of the gun trained on his chest. His eyes are wild, a wicked grin on his face.

"Jamie, you idiot, stop!" Jack says, grabbing Jamie's sleeve to try to get him to stop. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Jack jumps through everyone and tries to take the gun, knowing he can't be killed by it, but passes right through him instead. Jack swears under his breath.

Jamie stops in his tracks, trembling fiercely, but determined to prevent any more bloodshed. These people don't deserve to die; none of them.

He shoots a glance over at Jack, but doesn't dare linger there for fear of Nathan doing something when he's not looking. "I can't just stand back and do nothing."

"You think you're so perfect, don't you, Jamie Bennett," Nathan sneers, spitting out Jamie's name, his voice low so only the boy can hear him. "Well, you're not."

He looks directly into Jamie's brown eyes as he squeezes the trigger. He pulls the trigger twice more before turning the gun on himself and sending a bullet through his own head, a twisted, satisfied smirk on his face as the light leaves his eyes.

The gunshots seem so much louder than they are to the Winter Spirit, his ears ringing as the holes are ripped through Jamie's chest. His eyes are wide as he rushes to Jamie, gaze glued to the red blooming on his chest, the ring getting bigger and bigger.

"Jamie!" Jack screams, wishing there was something he could do.

The café is sheer chaos, with people screaming and shoving to get out of the little building.

Time seems to slow as Jamie feels a pressure in his chest. He doesn't realize he's falling until his body crashes to the floor, and it's only then that the pain registers in his foggy mind. His eyes are wide and unseeing as he frantically searches for Jack, silently praying he wasn't harmed. Breaths are nothing more than gargled gasps as his lungs fill with blood and bubble out of his mouth.

Jack sobs as he cradles Jamie's head on his lap.

"I'm sorry, Jamie, I'm so sorry," Jack whispers, not caring that he's getting Jamie's blood on his clothes. His sobbing intensifies as Jamie's head slowly begins to faze through his arms and legs. With the boy's life, also goes his belief.

"Not...your...f-fault..." Jamie manages. He feels a sudden build up in the back of his throat and coughs painfully, blood spewing from his mouth. He looks over in the direction Jack seems to be and gives the boy a small, gentle smile. It says so much more than he can get across with his words: "Please don't be sad," "Look after Sophie for me," and last of all, "I'm sorry, Brother...goodbye".

As his head softly lands on the cold, tiled floor, his eyes slowly drift closed and the air rushes from his lungs in a final breath.

Jamie Bennett dies with a smile still on his face.

Jack keeps trying to grab Jamie, becoming more and more distressed every time his hands pass through him.

"Jamie, no!" When his tears finally dry up, Jack curls up beside Jamie, his body shaking with dry sobs. He stays like that until the police arrive along with an ambulance.

When they take Jamie away, Jack stays just long enough to watch them take both Nathan and the innocent cashier's body as well. With the little café empty save for the police, Jack takes off, flying as fast as the wind will carry him to his home in the woods.

To be continued...

* * *

A/N: Ghost here! And that's it for Hold Me Now! Watch for the sequel, Hold Me Forever, which will be posted next week, same as always. It's all finished as well, so updates will be just as frequent as they were with this one.

As for this chapter, we love our characters, we really do. And writing Jamie's death had both of us in tears, but we didn't want to just end things there and where we wanted to take things, it kind of had to happen. But! Since you all have been absolutely wonderful at encouraging us throughout this whole story, I'm not going to leave you hanging.

Enjoy. ;)

* * *

_ Hold Me Forever preview:_

_ The Man in the Moon, MiM for short, watches from his place on the moon as the young Bennett boy selflessly sacrifices himself to try to save the rest of the people in the café from the boy with the gun. The little round man is pleased with Jamie, and wants to do something for him and for Jack, the Winter Spirit he wished he'd been able to help more._

_With a smile, and the snap of his fingers, MiM resurrects Jamie Bennett in the image of nature. When the boy rises from his new resting place in the woods, not far from Jack Frost's cabin, he alters the boy's appearance. He no longer appears as a normal human - Jamie now has a pair of brown wolf ears and a tail, plus sharper teeth and clawed hands and feet._

_"You are Jamie." MiM tells the confused and frightened boy. "And you are the Beast Spirit."_

_As a last gift, MiM makes sure to leave a bow and quiver of arrows where the boy will find them._


End file.
